Fire's Darkness, Fire's Light
by Reaga
Summary: Finished. When the Gaurdians, Blunk, Caleb, and even Hay Lin's grandmother all feel a burst of heat at once, a horrible power enters town. And when there's a new student at school, Taranee knows she isn't the only pyrokinetic in town.
1. The boring warning

**A/N: **This story takes place before Phobos's reign ends, I lost all track of the show after the witch showed up, and I plan to catch up one day. If I get anything wrong, email me and I will correct it.

Also, this is my first of two fanfics I'm working on, so please no flaming in your reviews.

**Disclaimer:** The flaming purple bunnies will vouch for me when I say "I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or any of its characters."

It was a calm, boring day and night for Hay Lin. No Guardian missions, the restaurant had no business for today (Blunk stunk everyone out yesterday, it's the second time he's hung out in their dumpster.), and it was Saturday. Hay Lin sat on her bed, bored as hell. Her grandma was getting things ready for business tomorrow, hoping everyone would come back to eat. These preparations including shooing Blunk out from behind the restaurant again. Caleb was doing that part.

Will was in her apartment, looking at the clock while holding a stuffed frog. The clock read 9:30. Her mom was going to make her go to bed soon, knowing her. There was nothing on T.V, and Matt was grounded, so he couldn't call or come over.

Cornelia was doing her hair, like she is every night. She was hoping she would finally be able to ask Caleb out on a date tomorrow. After putting down her comb, the bored Cornelia decided to get an early sleep, or at least get comfortable in her bed.

Irma at least had company, but she was busy throwing stuff at Martin from the window. Martin was the company. She just wished he would shut up and get on with his damned life. Right now, she was holding a purple gel pen. It was out of ink, and she didn't really like purple that much.

Taranee was practicing her limited power of fire outside Guardian form. Her candles were almost burnt out with the constant relighting of the candles, and she was getting bored of it.

That's when it happened. The sudden burst of heat and energy at once. They didn't know why, everyone knew it wasn't just a bit of hot air. Something was coming. Taranee believed she knew why there was a heat burst with it. There was another pyrokinetic in town.

Just entering the town, a 15 year old boy sat in the front seat of his grandma's car. The 45 year old woman frowned at the steering wheel. She saw the look on her grandson's face. "Joe, please. It's a new town, things will be different." She continued driving, depressed that her grandson had not said a word since they left. The boy, whose bluish grey eyes were staring at the road from the side window, shook his head, and his neck length dirty blonde hair with it. Looking at his almost pale reflection in the side mirror, Joe continued sulking. _Yeah, different people are going to get hurt._


	2. Painful memories

**Disclaimer: **Just ask the bunnies who set fire to all they touch, I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

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Joe was traveling down the street, wondering how long until something bad happened. He kept staring at the ground, while his grey New Balance shoes scraped the ground under his slightly baggy jeans. There was a slight breeze, and his orange shirt with two tiger heads and an ace of spades on the bottom and top corners, making it look like a playing card, annoyingly fluttered around him. He heard the mention of heat, and shuddered. _Why heat, of all things? I remember back when I liked it._ Suddenly, the memories started coming back, and he was leaning against a wall, palm burning, during his haunting.

---Memory Sequence---

_Woods, everywhere. _Why'd I get this idea?_ Thought Joe as he kept running from the wolf. Every time he thought he was safe, the wolf came up from behind and almost bit his ass off. It was almost as if Joe was being toyed with. Finally, he found a small cave, and naively hoped he could hide there. Oddly enough, after jumping in, the wolf turned around, almost fearfully. Panting, Joe turned around._

---End Memory Sequence---

Joe caught himself before he could remember too much farther. The burning in his palm was cooling down, the girls who had mentioned heat earlier were gone by now, and a black mark was disappearing from the source of the burn. _I won't let you hurt anyone as long as I can help it._ Joe thought, turning to continue his walk.

**That isn't your choice. You will have people important to you, and I will kill them.** thought something else. This demon-like voice began laughing maniacally.

Will, Irma, Cornelia, Taranee, and Hay-Lin were all sitting at the restaurant. Once again, word of the stench kept people away. This was the perfect opportunity to talk in private. They believed that someone was listening to them earlier, so they had to talk indoors.

"Anyway," Will brought up, "we still have to find out what that heat flash was last night. Once again, are we all sure we felt it at the same time?"

After a nod from everyone, Blunk excluded since he's not allowed in the restaurant, Hay-Lin spoke up. "That guy we think was listening in; did anyone else see him painfully lean up against the wall?" Everyone shook their heads. Hay-Lin couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for the boy they saw. But certainly it was something a doctor and some medicine would fix. Hay-Lin just shrugged it off and continued the discussion.

After everyone had decided to wait for more clues as to what they felt, the talk ended and everyone went home. It was 4:30, and there was still nothing to do. Caleb hadn't even heard a thing from the rebellion, and this event prevented Cornelia from being able to comfortably ask out Caleb. On the way home, Will saw a sudden flash of fire in an alley. The fire was followed by the scream of several people. When the fire died out, Will noticed the boy the Guardians had seen earlier tiredly walking out, and heading down the road. Shocked, Will didn't bother to ask him what happened. All she saw when she looked in the alley was a burnt dumpster and a bunch of ashes. By the time she was done looking, the boy was gone. _I think we found our clue._

---Memory/Dream sequence---

_Joe decided to take a walk into an alley. He wished he'd brought his mp3 player. Linkin Park always cheered him up. Out of the shadows came three random thugs, two holding clubs and one with a pocket knife. They immediately asked Joe for all his money, which was promptly followed by a "Kiss my ass" from Joe. The leader, who was holding the knife, didn't like being talked to like that. He immediately proceeded to punch Joe in the right side of his chest. That was the last thing Joe remembered before waking up to a burnt alley, feeling tired._

---End sequence---

Joe awoke with a start, behind a restaurant. _God. My grandma's going to kill me after she's done worrying about me._ Joe was used to people dying around him. He was surprised his grandma had stayed alive. He looked at a Star Wars Phantom Menace watch he kept in his pocket, and found it to say 8:26. "Yep," Joe thought to himself, "she'll be worried." While he was walking out, Hay-Lin came out the door to kick Blunk out of the dumpster again, and noticed Joe walking off. The others, except for Will, were there to hang out with Hay-Lin and came out with her. Will would've been there, but her mom had her doing chores, so Will couldn't come or call over. Irma watched Joe leave, wondering why he could be here with that stench. Taranee and Cornelia went back in, while Hay-Lin kept watching him leave. There was something about him that seemed strange, and she was trying to point it out. Blunk appeared out of the dumpster.

"Who that?" he asked.

**It's school tomorrow. Maybe you'll make some new friends. I'll invite them to a barbeque.**

Joe awoke slowly after hearing that. It was 11 according to his alarm clock. He didn't even get to sleep for an hour. By the time he had gotten home, he was lucky his grandma hadn't yet heard about the alley incident. All he got yelled at for was getting home late, and she almost suspected something. _Maybe if I stay away from everyone, things will be okay, and I won't get to close to anyone._ Joe decided to light some candles and search for a particular book. However, Joe only needed to light them in the Taranee needed to, by throwing fire at them. He still had some control over the fire that burnt the alley.

Joe's been keeping a logbook since weird things started happening to him. When he's down and his grandma's asleep, he would often take a look at the days where nothing had happened. However, something told him to look at the sad parts. He hated the first two days the most, so he had them ripped out last night. He decided to start on page 3.

Day 3: _Dear journal,_

_Another fire set out at school today. They are small for now, but I fear they may get bigger. I wish I had never taken that dare. The kids don't know it, but they were right to fear the place. The school has noticed that I'm the only one who's always in the classrooms the fires appear in. They called my grandma, and I was forced to tell her about my run in with the wolf, and what happened afterwards. She thought it would stay small. I only hope she's right._

Joe skipped to day 8.

Day 8: _Dear journal,_

_As you know, people have been catching fire at school for a few days. The last one was a guy making fun of me. And as usual, I blacked out when it happened. Last time I hanged out with my best friend, Chad, I could feel the heating sensation that told me I was about to see Chad burn. I quickly made a traditional "I have to use the bathroom" excuse, and avoided everyone until the bell rang. I'm scared. My grandma is worried. She plans to move, hoping that getting farther from the cave will stop this problem. But I keep hearing the demonic voice. I don't think that'll help. I asked the voice why it does these things. It says it doesn't remember anything about the past. It just knows it wants to kill. Ironically, the last time I touched my Fire themed Yu-Gi-Oh deck, the top card, Infernal Flame Emperor, began to burn. I must learn to control this. However, it could take months for grandma to sell our house so we can move._

Getting tired, Joe skipped to the third to last day, taking the journal with him to lie down.

Month 4, Day 18: _Dear Journal,_

_We're moving tomorrow. You won't see your drawer until the movers get here. I'm going to keep you with me, I don't want anything to happen to you. It's going to be a place called Heathers Field. It's in another state, so Commerce, GA, will be safe. I'm sorry to be leaving Chris and Anthony, but my grandma says this is for the best. I don't plan to tell any of this to them, but I told them my grandma had to help somewhere, causing us to move. It's not a total lie, it will help them._

Joe fell asleep reading, and almost decided to burn the alarm clock when it rang. _Well, time for school._ thought Joe.


	3. The heroic evil

**A/n: **I do not remember the age of the girls, nor do I even think the show gave an exact age, so I'm saying they are 15.

**Disclaimer: **By all that is Holy (in other words, in the name of Mega Man), I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

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Four of the girls were standing by the school, waiting for Will to get there Monday morning. She had called Irma last night before going to bed to tell her that Will had something important to tell them at school. Joe had already passed them into the school, ready to sleep in class. Hay Lin had noticed Joe walking past them into the school. _If he goes to our school, he can't be from Meridian. Maybe he had just happened to hear us yesterday. _Ten minutes later, Will walked up to them, eager to tell her news.

"Will," said Taranee, "what's up?"

"Guys, there's something you need to know about the boy we saw yesterday. I saw him walk out of a flaming alley, no burns or anything. He just looked tired, and when the fire was burning, others were screaming in the alley." Everyone else stood there, puzzled. Hay Lin decided to break the silence. "Guys, I don't exactly wanna be late. Can we get to class?"

In Meridian, right in the forest area near the castle, Cedric was fuming. "Why does he want me to attack the Guardians' school? Isn't it enough we have Elyon? We should be able to just hold off the Guardians until he can take the princess's power." Confused as he was, Cedric had no other choice than to head for the portal.

Phobos was thinking of himself as stupid for not thinking of this earlier. "I should've known Elyon's friends wouldn't use their powers in public. The Guardians will be helpless as long as they act that way." Phobos quickly altered the throne room as Elyon entered.

"What is it, sister?" asked Phobos with fake sincerity. "Have you seen Cedric?" asked Elyon. "I sent him off to help out with the kingdom. He should return by the end of the day." Phobos reassured here. He immediately changed his throne room back when she left. _That peaceful scene always disgusts me._

During first period, Joe was being introduced to the class as a new student. Will happened to be in the same class, wondering what he was doing here. The others had forgotten to tell her that Joe was here. When Joe was heading towards a seat in the back, he passed Will. "I need to talk to you at lunch." whispered Will. "What the hell do you want?" Joe whispered back. "Do you two have something you want to share with the rest of the class?" asked the old lady teaching them. "This girl was just answering a question I had about the school." Joe responded quickly before sitting down. While the old lady was writing on the board, Joe pulled out his mp3 player and stuck the earphones on, falling asleep to Faint by Linkin Park.

When the bell rang, Joe had woken up to find his mp3 player was playing My Way by Limp Bizkit. Joe headed for second period, wondering what that girl would want to talk to him about at lunch. This time, it was Hay-Lin that had the same class as Joe. Again, Joe had no intention of sitting awake on the first day of class. However, Hay-Lin waited until he happened to sit in the empty desk behind her to talk to him. "What are you listening to?" she asked as he pulled out his music again. Feeling bored, Joe decided to answer. "I'm about to play Another One Rides the Bus by Weird Al." Hay-Lin almost laughed. "You like Weird Al, too?" Joe almost laughed himself. "Who doesn't?" Before Hay-Lin could ask him any weird questions he could tell were coming up, he decided to get to sleep. Hay-Lin looked puzzled. "Why's he going to sleep?" She whispered to herself. Hay-Lin decided to just ignore him until the lunch bell rang.

Cedric had the school in his sites. "On second thought, I'm attacking the Guardians. This will actually be fun." He ignored the strange sound of the lunch bell, and headed towards the building in human form.

Hay-Lin ran to lunch so fast, you'd think she hadn't been fed in months. Joe saw that as he was waking up, and actually laughed. She seemed to have gotten Joe in the mood for running. _Maybe I'll run instead of walk home later._ As he headed for the lunch room, he saw the table that the girl from first block sat at. At the table was the girl who liked Weird Al. There were three other girls there, as well. Joe remembered seeing them all yesterday before his power started acting up. Sighing, he headed for their table. He knew they might not let him avoid them, and a blonde at the table had spotted him anyway. Without getting his lunch, he sat down. "Well, what do you want?" Will was the first to speak. "Who are you?" Thinking it was odd that she'd made this sound important; Joe simply told her his name. "Let's get the introductions done and tell me what you really want to know." After learning their names, Cornelia came up with the true question. "What are you?"

From the cafeteria window, Cedric spied on everyone until he found what he was looking for. "These 5 girls look amazingly like the Guardians. This must be them." Transforming into his snake form, the attack began.

Joe was the first to notice the strange man by the window, and saw him beginning to transform when Cornelia had asked her question. "If you want to know, you will have to watch." Standing up, Joe ran outside to catch the stranger, now in snake form. The Guardians recognized Cedric by now, but knew they shouldn't transform with everyone around. Everyone else had also noticed the snake man, and was on the brink of panicking.

"What do you want?" Cedric asked the boy who just confronted him. "I was about to ask you the same thing, shit face." Taken aback by this kid's apparent foolishness, Cedric asked "Is that a challenge? Maybe after I kill those girls, I will enjoy killing you to." Next thing Cedric knew, there was fire in his face. Joe was using his share of the firepower his body has possessed for awhile. Shaking it off and looking funny with burns on his face, Cedric grabbed hold of the boy with his tail and began squeezing. "Instead," hissed the pissed off creature, "I will kill you first."

**Do you want my help?**

_No. You will not stop with this ting, I can tell._

**If you die, so do I. I will let you have control after this fight, just stop fighting me so I can win.**

_Very well. But remember, you promised only this fight._

"My tail!" Cedric screamed, as it caught fire. In Joe's place was a very frightful presence. This being was just as tall as Joe, wearing what appeared to be smoke grey armor for fist fighters, with black at the joints. This being's hair was almost 2 feet long, and was the same color as his armor. Surrounding this thing was what looked like black fire. Everyone at the school looked at it, thinking it was a good guy. But the Guardians could tell this thing wasn't here to save anyone. "What are you?" Asked Cedric, a look of fear on his face. "Call me Inferno."

**A/N: **My first ever cliffhanger. Anyone who knows me over the net should've expected Inferno. How fast does Cedric get beat? That will depend on reviews, telling me whether you want the fight to last or end quickly.


	4. Infernal Alliance

**A/N: **From what few people have told me their opinions, they want this fight to last. However, I cannot think of a way this could last. Maybe some other chapter they will have a rematch. Also, please review. I need to know how well my first fanfic is doing.

**Disclaimer:** Anyone who foolishly thinks I own W.I.T.C.H. must burn! Ha-ha!

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Cedric continued looking down on this figure. _Is this the boy who challenged me? Or did this being somehow take his place? No matter, he must die!_ Roaring, Cedric swung his burned tail at Inferno. Big mistake. Not only did Inferno dodge it, but when it slammed onto the ground it hurt even more. Cedric began screaming bloody murder, causing everyone except Inferno to cover their ears. The black-fire warrior couldn't help but snicker. "Certainly you are smarter than that. I see I will have to play around to have some fun here. I don't know how you were able to think to pick the boy up with those brains." Cedric was being mocked, and like the currently ash thug, he didn't like it.

Snake face's tail was already healing, so he felt it safe to try and catch this man off-guard. Cedric began the motion to wrap his tail around Inferno. Inferno jumped, and Cedric grabbed him in the air. Being a giant snake had some advantages. Inferno wasn't showing too much sign of trouble. He wasn't even covering his armor in black fire, making it safe for Cedric to keep hold of him. "Why do you not turn on your fire? Do you think me weak?" Cedric asked rudely. Inferno nodded as Cedric threw him to the ground.

When he thought he saw Inferno hit the ground, he blinked. After blinking, Inferno wasn't on the ground. He was on Cedric's shoulder kicking Cedric's neck with his feet on fire. "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch." cried Cedric as he was getting kicked. Next thing Cedric knew, he was on the ground with Inferno on his chest, punching him repeatedly in the face. "I'll let you run now. You are boring me." Inferno said after five minutes of punching. Cedric knew by now he must have some sort of brain damage. He immediately went in the direction he had come from, eager to get to Meridian and not let Inferno change his mind. _Good thing Phobos will probably never meet that thing._

**If this causes trouble for the kid, it'll cause trouble for me as well. I'd better cover for him before fulfilling my promise to give him back to himself.** The cafeteria window was open, so he covered for himself. "Do not worry; I simply switched places with that kid. He's safely in front of the school." With that, Inferno ran there at the same speed he'd used to kick the snake man's ass, so no one knew the direction he went.

The Guardians were probably the only ones who didn't believe Inferno. They'd seen Joe throw the first flame. "Guys," will said, interrupting the silence in the group, "we should talk about this for awhile."

Joe spent the rest of the classes pretending to sleep, but thinking about what happened. He didn't have any more classes with the girls, except for 4th period with Taranee. As he left the final class, he started having a conversation with Inferno. _That is the first time you've ever done that. Normally you would simply make my body use an amped up version of the normal power._

**Well normally I'm not trying to beat up a giant snake. Now shut up human, people are looking at you funny.**

Joe realized he'd been walking absent-mindedly. When he looked up, he found the girls waiting for him. "What do you want?" He asked? "We need to talk." stated Will firmly.

After walking until no one was around, Taranee brought it up. "You may have fooled everyone else, but we know 'Inferno' is you. We also know it isn't good. What are you?" That stopped everyone. Taranee wasn't normally so bold. _I can tell he's going to give pyrokinetic people a bad name._ thought Taranee. Joe sighed as he began what he was willing to tell. "I have more than one mind inside of me. It's the reason I could throw that first fireball in the first place. I've had 'Inferno', as he has started calling himself, for a few months now. I'm not telling you any more than that." Staring at Will, he added, "Also, I would like to know why it is so important to a few girls."

They all stared at each other. They knew what the other was thinking. Could they trust him? They had sensed the evil when he'd entered town, and they'd seen his "other half". Will was still weighing the options. _He could be a good addition in the fight against Phobos if he could control Inferno. But what if Inferno took control? It could be disastrous to any world seeing that strength._ "Penny for your thoughts?" asked Joe. "Take into account that that is the first time Inferno ever did any more than just force me to use the power." Hay-Lin decided to begin before Will could say no.

After a brief, if you could call it that, explanation of the Guardian business, Joe couldn't help it. He laughed. "So the first people I meet here have powers as well?" Cornelia already knew the next thing Will would do. "Will you join us?" Joe's face hardened. "Sorry, but I don't think I'd be much help in a team effort. I accept my hardships with Inferno; I'm not going to pretend I can keep friends when they know this. However, I'm sure if the Heart can butt in on a radio station, it can interrupt my music, which I will usually be listening to. If you ever need help, I may be able to get you out of a jam." And with that, Joe left them. Hay-Lin tried to follow him when the others left, at least long enough to see his house. However, she got a call from her grandma that she was needed at the Silver Dragon.

**An interesting Monday. To bad you wouldn't accept their friendship. I wanted to burn them.**

_This place is new. How about we make our power struggle interesting. New rule: You can't harm them. They were nicer than I thought they'd be about you._

**I like challenges. Very well, they are safe. But no one else whenever I am in charge.**

**A/N:** Bum bum bum. Will Inferno keep up this condition long? Or will the Guardians have to defeat their new "ally"? Review dammit.


	5. Late Night Visit

**A/N: **lol sorry, trying to get longer chapters. Please review.

**Disclaimer:** In no way, shape, or form do me or the 10,000 other voices in my head own W.I.T.C.H.

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"What!" yelled Phobos, as Cedric returned with bad news. "Beaten by fists? For you, Cedric, that should've been impossible. You are failing in your service to me!" This was too much for Cedric. He fainted on the spot. He hadn't bothered transforming to human form on the way back; he was to busy trying to run from Inferno. After scaring a few passersby in his freak-out run, Cedric was worn out. Now he was afraid of what Phobos might do for Cedric's failure, and his mind shut down as Elyon knocked on the door. Changing the scene, Phobos calmly told Elyon to come in. "What happened to Cedric?" asked Elyon with a worried look in her face at the site of Cedric unconscious on the floor. "He was trying to make peace with the rebels when your 'friends' the Guardians sent someone to try and kill him." Phobos was sure that would help keep Elyon away from the Guardians. However, Elyon wasn't as ignorant as she was pretending. She'd heard the entire conversation before she knocked. However, she's seen him as a nice guy so far, so she assumed he must've sent Cedric to attack the Guardians for a good reason. _I'll confront him later._ thought Elyon as went to bed to think, telling Phobos she was tired.

"Joe, lights out!" called Joe's grandmother. It was a tired Joe who reluctantly complied. He had spent all day convincing his grandma that Cedric simply attacked Joe, and that Inferno happened to save him, thus telling her Inferno had nothing to do with the old town. Sticking his earphones in his ears, Joe began listening to Goodbye by SR-71 as he went to bed in a baggy pair of blue sweat pants and a black t-shirt. In the middle of the next song, Joe heard a tapping at his window.

Hay-Lin had told her grandma what had happened at school, asking her if Hay-Lin could try and talk to Joe. She had noticed how depressed he was when he turned down the offer to join the Guardians. _It's like he wants to have friends, but doesn't think he can._ So Hay-Lin grabbed some Chinese food and her bike, and began peddling to the street where she last saw Joe. "I'm going to cheer him up if it kills me." she said to no one. Looking at a random house on the street, she saw Joe getting ready for bed in a window. "Nice house." she said, looking at the two-story white house. Using her limited power over air, she lifted herself to the roofing just outside his window and began tapping.

Annoyed, Joe got up to see who was tapping on his window. He was almost shocked to see Hay-Lin standing there with no trace of a ladder. _Oh yeah, she has air powers._ Joe scolded himself for being such an idiot and walked out the window, contemplating whether he should tell her to leave or not. "What's up? Guardians need my help already?" Hay-Lin shook her head. "Nope, I just wanted to talk." Puzzled, Joe inquired as to why she wanted to talk. "No reason. I just figured you'd like a friend." She said the wrong thing, which she clearly saw in the frown that followed. "I haven't had a friend since Inferno burned my best friend Chad a month before we moved." "I hit a sore subject, didn't I?" Hay-Lin apologized quickly, and then said she'd be right back. She got off the roof and came back up with the Chinese food. "You hungry?" she asked? Joe smiled and quickly asked for the chicken and the Mongolian Beef. "Glad I could cheer you up." Hay-Lin responded sarcastically. They spent the next 15 minutes chowing down and talking about normal things like how weird the teachers were. Joe decided to bring up what he noticed throughout the entire conversation. "You always have a positive attitude, even when you realize how much danger you and everyone else around you can be in with your powers. How?" It was Hay-Lin's turn to frown. "I can't stand to think that everything can hang on me and my friends, that a mistake could end both worlds. The perkiness is a defense mechanism now more than it is my true self." Checking the Star-Wars watch, Joe decided he'd have to end this soon. "Well, it's getting late. You'd better head home. Thanks for the talk."

As Hay-Lin got down and Joe crawled through the window, he had a nice thought for once. _I like people like her. If I could trust Inferno to keep his promise not to hurt them or just get rid of him, she would probably be my first friend in this town._ Hopping in bed, Joe drifted off to sleep dreaming of fighting Inferno. _I wish._


	6. Meridian at last

**A/N: **This chapter was mainly made for a bit of comedy, and I hate Cedric so don't be surprised to see him run like a bat out of my home.

**Disclaimer:** The elephant lamp next to me has told me to tell you guys I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or its characters in any form. I just control their fate in this story. This is the last time, dammit. You should've gotten the picture by now. This is just wasting words in the story. I will stop wasting those words… now.

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The week went by pretty slowly for Joe. The Guardians hadn't seen Caleb since before school started this week, so they had no need to request Joe's help. Even Inferno hadn't bothered him much. The only Guardian he talked to, unless he was receiving a bit of class help from Taranee on Thursday, was Hay-Lin, who wouldn't stop bugging him. By now Joe was used to going to his locker and seeing Hay-Lin trying to get to know him. _What's her deal? She knows what I am, she knows how dangerous I can be, and she won't leave me alone. _Joe often shrugged it off and dealt with it though. By the end of the week, he was so used to having her around him that he'd find it strange if he wasn't hearing her voice in the halls. It was Saturday now; Joe had recommended the Silver Dragon to his grandma, who wanted to celebrate a mostly normal week. She was so happy at the moment she didn't bother to ask how he knew the food would be good there. "I must have been right about this," she commented, about to bite into an egg roll. "Moving here was a good idea." _I wish my friends at home were here to see this. To bad Chad burned the day after I said we were moving. I miss visiting his grave. It used to calm me down every now and then._ Joe's giddy grandmother didn't have time to notice Joe's sudden change in mood at these thoughts. Hay-Lin was coming up to see him.

In the basement, Caleb had called a meeting upon his return. The Guardians and Blunk, who had been forced to get a bath this morning so he wouldn't stink up the restaurant, were gathered around him as he gave some astonishing news. "On my way here, I saw Elyon." After answering the assortment of questions about how she was doing and why he didn't get back sooner after this, Caleb shut them up. "She's ok. She says she wants to meet with us now, and she also seems to want to meet 'Inferno'. Who or what is Inferno?"

"Joe," Hay-Lin started upon getting to his table, "do you remember your promise?" Joe looked quizzically at Hay-Lin, wondering what the hell she was talking about. "You said you were going to help me out with the science homework from yesterday." Joe knew this was a lie and left with her. The class they had together was not science. Excusing himself, Joe followed Hay-Lin to the basement. His grandma looked disappointed at having her grandson leave, but happy that he seemed to have friends.

"Who are you?" Caleb and Joe asked each other at the exact same time when Joe entered the basement. "Joe, this is Caleb, rebel leader. Caleb, this is Joe, a.k.a. Inferno. We'll explain later." Will stated simply. After that was over, the Guardians transformed just in case something would happen on the other side. Joe was left gawking as they left through a portal created by Will in the basement. "I know, they don't leave much to the imagination." Caleb chuckled behind Joe. "Aren't you supposed to be a responsible leader?" Joe inquired. "Hey, I can think whatever I want about Cornelia as long as I don't do anything stupid. And trust me; I was raised well enough to know not to do anything stupid." Not wanting to know what Caleb thought about Cornelia, Joe quickly jumped into the portal, followed by Caleb and a confused Blunk.

Caleb had told Elyon before hand where and when to meet them. So it came as no surprise to her when a portal had opened behind her and the Guardians, followed by Caleb, Blunk, and a young boy, came springing out. Elyon got bombarded with hugs from the Guardians and Joe just sat there rolling his eyes. _This could get annoying quick. I wonder why this chick wants to see me._ Almost as if Elyon had been reading his mind, she began telling them why they were called. "I've been spying on my brother all week. Even the guards and Cedric haven't seen me snoop, though I think they may know of the presence of a spy. You guys were right; he is evil. I'm sorry I didn't trust you." The traditional "apology accepted" and "no need to apologize" followed from the actual group. More eye-rolling from Joe followed. "I will continue watching Phobos," she reported after everyone calmed down. "I will occasionally send a trustworthy guard with news." Turning to Joe, Elyon smiled. "A new member of the team, huh?" Joe shook his head. "I'm just an acquaintance. I'll help if they need it, but I'd prefer if the Guardians don't need it." _Ok. Maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions._ Elyon thought while apologizing. "If I had known, I wouldn't have wasted your time." "I was bored anyway. And did anyone else hear that twig snap?"

Cedric's first job after recovering was to find out who was constantly spying around. Cedric had seen Elyon leave this morning, and followed her in human form. He nearly panicked as he lost her in the woods. "This could be a dire situation for me if she is harmed now." he told himself, and began searching harder. He finally found her talking to the Guardians and the rebel leader. His thoughts were happy at finding this until he noticed who else was with them. The boy had heard him and was walking towards the place where Cedric was snapping twigs with his feet. The boy found him, and Cedric began cowering. "Please, I'm just recovering from last time."

**I say you should terrorize him.**

_You haven't talked in a while._

**When I took your body to beat him last time, it took some energy turning your body into mine. I needed to rest.**

_Whatever. You are actually useful here._

Joe created a small fireball on his palm and lowered it to the cowering man's face. "Go back to the castle and tell no one, not even the Prince, what you may have seen or heard here. Otherwise I will not hold back." Cedric ran so fast only the birds could keep up with him as he headed back to the castle, afraid of the burns. "Don't burn me! Don't burn me!" "That was very odd of Cedric." Irma said aloud.

A few minutes later, the meeting was over and they were inside the basement again. "Joe," Yan-Lin called as he came up from the basement, "your grandma told me to tell you she's already paid and to tell you to have fun with your friends. She's even odder than me, of course she's younger." Joe said he was going to go for one of his usual random walks around town. _Inferno's talking again, so the calm should stop soon._ Before Joe could get out the door, Caleb had a proposition. "Joe, how would you like me to teach you to fight? It could teach you some self control, which might help with whatever problems are obviously involved with your powers." "I'll contact you when I decide." was Joe's response. _I swear things will be fun around here if Inferno would just **leave!**_


	7. Old friend, new enemies

It has been a month since Joe first saw Meridian and the Guardian's pixie forms. He was wrong at the Silver Dragon. The calm period was still going strong. Joe had accepted Caleb's offer to learn to fight, and trained with Caleb almost everyday after school. He and Hay-Lin had become actual friends. Actually, they are extremely close friends, as the others have begun to notice. Caleb spends his time on Earth that he's not training Joe near Cornelia. They are finally going out, and it was Caleb who'd asked her. Joe didn't need Taranee to make good grades, so the only reason he had for hanging out with the Guardians other than Hay-Lin was to have playful arguing with Irma. Right now, the score is 15-13 in Irma's favor.

He was getting things easily at school, and his grandma was happy with the grades, thus making things easier at home. Caleb had been right in saying learning to fight would help him keep control over his powers, though they had forgotten to tell Caleb what really needed controlling, so Caleb has no idea that Joe and Inferno aren't totally the same being. Joe can now use more of the power on his own free will rather than blank out while Inferno makes him use it. Inferno keeps complaining about how he wants out of the hellhole where he no longer has control, but can't seem to do anything anymore.

Taranee has started dating a guy named Nigel, and they actually needed Joe once in Meridian. He had to tell the difference when some flying things were impersonating the Guardians and terrorizing the village. Other than that, he's just had time practicing on his own. It is mid April now, and Joe is actually happy. He has even taped the two first days back in his journal, not caring how bad they were.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hay-Lin was getting home from school and about to put her stuff up and go to Joe's when Will knocked at the door. "Hey Hay-Lin. Going to Joe's?" she asked. "Yeah, his house is so much fun, and his grandma has some funny stories about hospitals. You'd think she couldn't find this kind of stuff happening in one of those places." Will eyed her suspiciously. "What?" Hay-Lin inquired. "You think the rest of us haven't noticed? You like him, don't you?" Hay-Lin began blushing, yet sunk her head. "Oh, is it that obvious? If he notices, it might just creep him out." Laughing at this inquisition, Will walked in. "I don't think so. He's not used to such things, remember?" This didn't work in cheering Hay-Lin up though. _If he finds out how I feel about him, will it drive him away?_

Joe was sitting in his room, expecting Hay-Lin soon. Caleb was letting him take the day off training, supposedly for rest. Joe knew better. He was hanging out with Cornelia. "Joe, someone's at the door for you." Joe left his room to find a very ironic situation. Picture Harry Potter standing at your doorstep. Now take off the lightning scar and make him fat with a book bag on his back. That's what was waiting for Joe.

"Anthony! What the fuck are you doing here?" Joe exclaimed. "Spring Break is starting back home, so I decided to come visit. You wouldn't believe how much trouble I got using the school computers to hunt you down." Joe's grandma told them to keep it quiet. She knew the way they used to act when Joe got with any of his old friends. Very loud and very perverted jokes, though she hadn't heard them much since before they moved. "Dude, I want you to meet my best friend here. She should be around any minute." As if on cue, Hay-Lin was seen walking up the street. "She doesn't look half bad. Is she more than a friend?" Anthony asked. "What? No way." _Joe seems different. He was depressed ever since way before Chad's death. I had almost forgotten his joking side. How have things changed?_ "Hay-Lin, I want you to meet my old friend Anthony." Anthony shook her hand as a matter of being polite. "I'm Anthony, psycho of a hundred thousand voices." Anthony joked. Anthony decided to head in, wanting to know all about this place. "Does he know about…?" "No, he does not know about Inferno. And with the way things have been going the past month; I see no need for him to find out."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You still haven't found the spy?" Phobos asked Cedric. "Um… they must be very crafty?" If Phobos had seen any Earth movies, the tone in Cedric's voice would've been a dead giveaway that he was lying. "No matter. Prepare to find me a portal. I must make my own Guardians to counter the Earth Guardians." Puzzled, Cedric began to look at the map of the veil. "When did you think of this, my liege?" He asked, trying to suck up and avoid getting killed. _I'm screwed if I tell him, but at his rate of anger, I'm screwed if I don't. Yes, they are very crafty._ "I thought of it last night. I will find teens whose very souls I can corrupt and make loyal to me through trickery." Unfortunately, Elyon was not around so the Guardians had no way to know of this.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joe and Hay-Lin followed Anthony to Joe's room, having to tell him which one it was. As soon as he got in, Anthony reached in his bag and pulled out a beer bottle. Startled by the bottle, Joe opened a window, took the bottle, and threw it out. "Dude, what the hell is up with the beer? I thought you said you were a light weight." Hay-Lin could tell things were going to tense up, and these friends hadn't even seen each other for ten minutes. "Oh yeah, when you left me and Chris kind of drifted apart until we weren't friends anymore. Now I'm friendless and beer helps me." "What dumbass is supplying you with beer?" Joe was pissed. He had personal reasons to hate alcohol. It didn't help that he'd accidentally tried a sip and it tasted nasty. "My brother." Anthony responded. "Now are you going to pay for the beer you just ruined?" "Hell no!"

Hay-Lin went home very unhappily. Not long after the beer had shown up Anthony had left to walk the streets, Joe's old habit. Joe was ranting about the argument, which only got him angrier about it. The sudden change from happy to see his best friend to anger at how his best friend was living was causing Joe to lose his recent control over Inferno, so he had told Hay-Lin to go while he found a way to blow it off. _This is going to be a long week._ Luckily, they had to wait another week for Spring Break in Heathersfield, so Joe would have school to keep him occupied after the weekend.

Joe was in the alley he had burned on his second day here. They black fire symbol that he hadn't seen since that day was appearing on the back of his hand.

_Back off, spirit!_

**No. I want freedom and you haven't been giving it to me. You are losing your control for now, and I will take what I can get.**

_Fuck off. I told you that you wouldn't hurt anyone here, and I meant it._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Uriah was bullying some brat for the fun of it. He didn't count on the kid kicking him in the nuts. That's pretty much what's been going on lately. People seem to be able to kick his ass. "Damn it, life is no fun like this." Uriah was contemplating his next target when he spotted a long-haired man walking by. _If I can't get him, then I'll end it for today._ The bored teenager was about to start with a kick to the lower regions, but the man had Uriah trapped with… energy? _Damn. Now I end up picking the worst kind of target, a freak. I must suck at bullying._ "Tell me child," said the man, "do you wish to gain power?"

Anthony was trying to sneak back into Joe's house for his remaining beers. _Damn it, why'd I have to get hooked?_ Anthony slammed his fist into the door in frustration. He couldn't get in with Joe's grandma being out in town. Quite suddenly, six figures seemed to appear out of nowhere. Three of these figures were kids he'd met walking, kids he didn't really like.

One was an annoyance called Martin Tubbs. Anthony had seen him getting the cold shoulder from a girl he was chasing, and Anthony had been getting a headache from it and gave him a smack down. Two of them were Bess and Courtney Grumper, who Anthony had seen plotting some mischief, though he wasn't sure what. The other two were a mystery to him, though two of them were about his age. There was a boy who had a bad blonde Mohawk and brown eyes, and though he didn't know his name there was Uriah.

Anthony eyed the dude with the long hair who appeared to be leader. "What do you want? I'm craving a beer right now." The leader could only grin as he answered. "I am Phobos. These are my Knights of the Empire. I would like you to join us. I saw you met Martin Tubbs and the Grumper girls shortly before I did. The others are Uriah the kid with the odd hair is Jeff. Neither of those two has told me their last names, nor do I care." "What do I get out of joining you?" Anthony stared quizzically. "Revenge. I can tell you and your so called 'friend' are ticked at each other." Anthony seemed appalled at this idea. "Dude, so we got into a fight. He's still my friend." "Do friends abandon each other; ruin each other's lives by doing so? That kid is not your friend, he is your enemy. Not join me if you wish to see the truth for yourself." Anthony was perplexed. He'd done his homework and talked well. "Why not. So what's this 'Empire'?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joe was still in the alley, trying his best to cool off. Inferno wasn't letting this happen. Joe was fighting to keep control when he got the biggest shock he'd had all day. There was Anthony, skinny. He really did look like a scar-less Harry Potter now. "Dude, when did you get skinny?" Joe inquired, almost losing his control in surprise. "The same time I learned to do this." Anthony replied as he shot Joe with… was that lightning? "Dude, what the hell?" "I've been told to distract you. I know you're Inferno. Phobos learned from Cedric after Cedric got beat up that you held such power. So, Inferno, fight me." Anthony was next to Joe at amazing speed with his fist in Joe's gut, and that broke it. Joe's eyes seemed to turn into a black fire as Inferno did his usual way of taking over Joe's body, without changing the shape. **"You asked for it!"** Joe/Inferno cried. Phobos didn't know Inferno and Joe simply shared a body, so Phobos and Anthony didn't know that Joe wasn't there anymore. The black fire symbol burned as bright as something black could burn. Though it wasn't Joe in control, it was Joe's body that would fight. Joe was behind Anthony in a flash, but Anthony was ready. The other fast fist fighter tripped Joe with a sweeping kick before Joe could see it, and Joe ended up on his back behind Anthony instead of on his feet. Readying lightning at his fists, Anthony prepared to leave a numb sensation on his enemy when Joe countered with his own flaming punch. One could feel the power through the air as their fists connected. **"There's one thing you need to know, boy."** Spoke Joe's body with a different voice. **"I'm not Joe!"** The situation would've appeared dire to Anthony, if he'd known how truly dangerous things could go. Nevertheless, Anthony showed off and picked up the new dumpster that had been placed in the alley and threw it at Joe while it was charged with electricity. Surprised, Joe barely managed to duck it, and a wheel on the bottom collided with his head. **"Don't piss me off!"** Joe yelled, rubbing the sore spot. Anthony jumped and in a split second he was above Joe with a downwards kick at the head. "Your head is taking a bit of a beating. At this rate, you won't beat me in time to save the Guardians from their enemies, Phobos's own Guardians." The real Joe's thoughts turned to Hay-Lin as he communicated with the one controlling him. _End this soon._ **I'm trying, but I don't want to go a week sleeping again by transforming and he's pretty good. Don't you do things better with music?** _Sometimes. _**Then keep some songs in your head so I can listen to them. It might work.** _Are we actually working together?_ **Don't get used to it.** Anthony was bored with Joe standing there, so he grabbed a beer bottle from his currently baggy shorts pocket and threw it at Joe, ending the conversation. "I'm trying to fight you here. Pay attention." The glass shattered on Joe's left shoulder, causing the fire boy to grab it in pain as Anthony connected his electric fist with the space between the blackfire eyes. This knocked Joe all the way across the street, where Will's boyfriend Matt was just leaving a pet store. Joe went zooming past Matt into a wall, and Matt ran back inside. (**A/N: **He doesn't know about Will's other life yet.) **That does it!** Anthony hesitated as he walked to Joe, who was covered in a fiery black aura. He watched in surprise as Joe's body began its simple yet powerful transformation, involving grey armor and long, odd-colored hair.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the Guardians were in trouble. Martin was shooting Taranee with water blasts while Irma was trying to talk him out of it. "Martin, stop. I thought you liked us." She argued as she dodged a very cold blast of wind from the boy named Jeff. "I liked you Irma, but I'm not taking your shit anymore." Hay-Lin and Will were being attacked by the Grumper sisters, who both had Earth powers. Cornelia was being attacked by fire from Uriah. "I thought you were annoying, not dangerous."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

My first huge fight, and my longest chapter. Please review.


	8. From ally to team mate fighting resumes

(**A/N:** Since Phobos is in this, Will can't shoot lightning yet, but she will here.)

"I always hated lightning users as long as I can remember." Inferno stated, waiting for Anthony to get over his shock. "Now I can fight one at full strength." Anthony knew right away he would have to resort to his more powerful moves. _But I only have so much energy before I must return to Phobos for more. To bad he can't make the change permanent. _Before he could think any further, he's received the same punch in between the eyes he'd given Joe, only with fire instead of electricity. The skinny man fell to the floor back after hitting the wall in the alley their fight had started in. "Don't think you can mess with me like this." Inferno demanded, about to contact Joe. **I told you to think of a song if you want me to do better.** _Alright, I'll play "By My Side" in my head. _**Why that? **_I originally saw it in a music video that involved two best friends fighting like this, and we're actually trying to work together._** Whatever. He's getting up.**

If Anthony didn't want to use more power before, he did now. "You say you are not Joe, but I only see Joe's body, altered a bit, fighting. You are going all out on your best friend. Phobos was right, we aren't truly friends." If Joe had been in control, he would've stopped fighting then and there. However, Inferno just came charging back, only to get hit by a natural lighting bolt. "How?" he asked, glad that his armor kept it from hurting him too badly. "There wasn't a cloud in the sky."

"You like it?" Anthony began antagonizing, gloating at his enemy's surprise. "I can create actual lighting. Less predictable and harder to dodge than just shooting it from my hands." Inferno growled. "I told you not to piss me off. I'll still win." Rolling to the left, Inferno barely dodged another bolt, only to get hit by Anthony's electrified foot. "You either get hit by the normal lightning or me." Anthony stated simply. "You are screwed."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"This is no good," Will sounded scared. "We need Joe." Jeff laughed, revealing his voice for the first time. "Your friend can't help. He's being taken care of by our other warrior. Now freeze, Guardian." Jeff stopped fooling around and made an extremely cold tornado around Irma as she was preparing some water to shoot at Uriah. The tornado, with her water, froze her, and Irma fell to the ground. Will barely caught her, and Taranee shot Irma with a fireball hot enough to thaw her out. However, Irma was knocked out cold. Will was pissed at the person who gave her a reason to be holding Irma like this anyway. Without thinking, Will pointed her palm at Jeff, hoping something would work. Something did. Electricity beamed its way over to Jeff's head, and the unprepared boy with the mohawk was knocked out, just like Irma. This brought a whole new plan for Will. "Hay-Lin, I'll take care of the Grumpers for now. Go find Joe." _I hope this city has some weird insurance for stuff like this._ Hay-Lin agreed, and began flying upwards to see if she could find Joe. Her first clue was the feeling of Joe's transformation. "I remember that feeling." Hay-Lin followed this power level, which she was sure everyone in Heatherfield was feeling. "Crap, it's near Matt's pet shop. If anything happens to Matt, Will will be pissed."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Inferno appeared to be screwed; Anthony seemed to have the upper hand at last. "This is fun. When I help fight the Guardians if they live after this, I'll have to do it again." _Dammit Inferno, kick his ass!_** I'm trying. Now stop distracting me.** Inferno back flipped before a lightning bolt, but was hit by Anthony's electric fist. "Shit, it looks like I'll have to use a move I made just for lightning users." Inferno panted, looking in bad shape. The lightning had been hitting left and right. When he did dodge, he didn't get time to recover before Anthony would hit him, and sometimes Anthony's hits would follow getting hit by the lightning, which took most of Inferno's speed to dodge anyway.

Another lightning bolt came down, but Inferno felt himself get swept away. Looking behind him as he was floating in the wind, he spotted Hay-Lin in Guardian form. "Girl, if I wanted to fly I would apply heat to my feet and let the hot air push me from the ground." "I just saved your ass. If Joe wasn't in there, I'd beat you up trapped in my air for being so rude." "Put me back down, I was gonna finish him off." Hay-Lin pouted, but did it anyway. _Maybe if Inferno's killed Joe will be free of him._

As soon as Inferno was back on the ground, Anthony started it again. However, Inferno let out an odd looking fireball in his hands while they were pointed upwards. This fireball was not only huge, but bluish white. The same color as lightning. The lightning bolt hit it full force, and the ball absorbed it, growing bigger and crackling with the electricity. "Right back at you!" Inferno yelled. "Electric Flame Attack!" _Why did you have to be overdramatic?_ **Because I hate lightning users. I have to gloat when I beat them.** Inferno sent the electric fireball towards Anthony, and hit Anthony head on at lightning speed. Anthony was on the ground, covered with soot and… fat again? "I'm out of power. This sucks." As his head collapsed back onto the ground, Phobos appeared out of nowhere. "I still need you. Come, you can recover in Meridian while your comrades fight off the Guardians." Just as quickly as he appeared, Phobos and Anthony disappeared. "I guess he went to find a portal." Inferno said aloud. The worn out spirit let Joe take back over; Joe's body returned to normal. "I think after that, he'll be out for more than just a week." Joe motioned for Hay-Lin to come down. "Are the others ok?" he asked. His body wasn't in bad shape anymore. It must've healed upon changing back. Hay-Lin shook her head. "I came to get you to help. What was up with Anthony fighting you?" she asked. "No matter now. Take me to your fight."

Upon getting to the fight scene, Joe noticed the Guardians and their enemies were worn out. Will was showing off a new power, shooting lightning, but she kept dropping. By now, all the adversaries were about to fall. With the last of his strength, Jeff made a feeble blast of wind and he dropped. The Knights of the Empire were out of power, except for Martin. He had barely exerted himself. _That kid always was to smart. And Inferno won't like me being friends with a lightning user._ These thoughts raced through Joe's mind as Martin decided to strain himself. He called the sewer water from a manhole below. Joe knew a tidal wave of stench was coming, so he quickly ran at Martin, wishing he had Inferno's speed. However, it was enough as Will's last lightning bolt and Joe's flaming fist hit Martin at the same time in the chest. _He's smart, but when it comes to endurance and other physical aspects he sucks._ Hay-Lin sent Martin flying backwards onto Uriah, who was also on the ground. Phobos appeared again, and took them like he took Anthony. "What portal is he using?" Will asked, though she knew no one would know.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"How did he defeat me?" Anthony asked Phobos, as they were just making it to the throne room. Anthony, unlike the others, weren't admiring his castle. He was focusing on his belief that Joe wasn't even his friend anymore, how his 'friend' had tried to kill him. "He was more powerful than I expected. I also didn't expect Will's new power, or the Guardians could've been taken care of. You guys will lie low for now. I will be trying to find a way to make the powers I gave you permanent. When you can't run out, you will be much more invincible. Until then," Phobos took a green pendant from his pocket and gave them extra power. "Get some practice in." As Anthony turned skinny again, he and the others felt their power surge through them. It was only their second time, but they liked the feeling already. Phobos was preparing an excuse for Elyon as to why he has these kids from Heatherfield were here.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The Guardians and Joe were at Will's apartment, as it was closest. They were discussing the new threat that had been so hard to defeat. They were avoiding one aspect, though. And Joe knew what they had so far evaded mentioning. "You guys can mention Anthony. I'm used to dealing with my emotions, so it won't piss me off." He stated coolly. Before they could respond, he continued with what he'd wanted to say all discussion. "I want my friend back. And he's one of your enemies. So I'm finally ready to take up the offer you guys gave me that Monday. I'll join your group. Just keep my name out of the initials." The new member of the group had just brought a grin to everyone's face, and Ha-Lin started bouncing up and down. "This is so wonderful. Now we can kick more butt!" Joe rolled his eyes at his friend, and his eyes caught the clock. "Fuck, I gotta go before my grandma gets ticked at me for missing dinner. I already have to think of an excuse as to why Anthony isn't here anymore."

Immediately following Joe's return home, he saw his grandma sitting at the kitchen table. "You lied to me, Joe. You said it was gone, but I saw you punch that skinny guy so far he went into another alley."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joe's in deep shit with his grandma, and now Anthony is going to get more powerful eventually. With Inferno asleep, will they be totally ready if they get attacked again?

Please review, and I love this story. What about you? That was a rhetorical question. No need to answer, but if you must….


	9. Why are people always so emotional?

**A/N:** I will be giving a bit more insight into Joe's past in this chapter, so anyone who has been wondering what happened to him when he met Inferno will get answers.

"What are you talking about?" Joe knew full well it was in Inferno's transformation that this had been done. "I also saw your little change from a window. Who do you think was in that pet shop?" _Shimatta._ Joe knew this Japanese word for "damn it" through the internet. It's the only one he knows. "Grandma, I can explain. It was Inferno who…" "Inferno! That looked like you, not some dude they say saved you from a snake creature." "Inferno is the spirit who caused us to move in the first place. We have the same body!" "Don't raise your voice to me, damn it! I am going to find a place with a nice exorcist or something, and we'll finally settle down there." The table burned there at these words, leaving the grandma speechless. "We're not moving again. As long as you think that way, enjoy having the house to yourself, because Anthony's not here and I'm leaving!" Neither Joe nor his grandma could believe the other or themselves for that matter had blown up like that. Joe told himself, as he was walking out, that it was mostly the earlier battle affecting his judgment. Nevertheless, when his grandma tried to tell him not to leave, he responded with "Fuck off" and a slam of the door. His grandma made a note to punish him for his language if he ever came back, as she went to her own bed to fume. _It's his first time even trying to run away. No kid lasts their first time. I give it two, maybe three days tops._

"Bitch needs to shut up." Joe mumbled as he headed to the local cove, where the Guardians tended to have magic practice. He knew there would be a cave where he could crash alone. _She does this shit to me all the time. I start respecting her decisions, and she brings up something to piss me off!_ He remembered her decision to move the last time, and this was even worse. Slumping down in the first cave he saw, he began to drift off, glad that Inferno was asleep as well. _What was she even doing in the pet shop?_

Joe awoke a bit earlier than expected, as he started feeling the earth shake. He also felt wind, fire, and could hear water splashing. Lastly, he heard the crackle of electricity. _I'll give myself three guesses, and the first two don't count._ Sort of grumpy at being denied his sleep; he walked out to find the Guardians having magic practice. "Hey, why's it got to be so loud?" he called, catching them off guard. Hay-Lin almost fell out of the air as she heard Joe's unexpected voice, making Joe chuckle and her blush a little. Whether it was out of embarrassment or something else, it was hard to tell. "Since you're here," Cornelia began, flying down to Joe, "you want to join us? And maybe tell us what you were doing sleeping in a cave?" Joe shrugged off the last question, but quickly agreed to join them. "Where should we start?" he asked. Cornelia gave the other girls, except for Hay-Lin, a wink that Joe and Hay-Lin didn't see. They all knew what each other was thinking. Matchmaker. "You and Hay-Lin can work together for now. Irma and I will start attacking you guys, and you're supposed to counter our magic attacks. This might also help against the Knights of the Empire if they show up." Joe did another shrug, and tried something Inferno had helped him think of yesterday. He took some heat energy and concentrated it to his feet. Next thing he knew, he was off the ground. "Awesome!" he exclaimed, and began to try and control it. He seemed to be a natural, and was next to Hay-Lin after a few minutes of trying it out.

"Ready weirdo?" Irma inquired, speaking to Joe, who nodded. Cornelia brought up a giant slab of dirt, and Irma added water, making mud. Using both their powers, they slung it at the practice pair. Hay-Lin caught the mud in a whirlwind, while Joe set the mud on fire. Hay-Lin slung it back at Cornelia, and it caught her skirt on fire as she tried to dodge. "Nice trick." Irma commented. She quickly put out Cornelia's skirt, leaving Cornelia slightly ticked at being burned and then wet. "How are you two such good partners the first time?" Hay-Lin shrugged. "I just knew what to do. It wasn't planned or anything." Will giggled behind them. _I guess we're doing the right thing here._ Hay-Lin heard the giggling, and turned around to see Will quickly recover herself. _What are you guys trying to do here?_ "Joe, do you get the feeling something's going on?" Joe shook his head. Why should he know? He's been naïve to this kind of thing since before he got there. Ignoring it, they continued practice. By the end of the day, Joe and Hay-Lin and come up with a few good air/fire combinations and they seemed to work fine without speaking. Joe assumed it was because she is always asking him questions about himself that she knows him too well. Joe left soon after, just to avoid explaining why he was sleeping in a cave.

Hay-Lin was about to go ballistic at the restaurant. "What the hell are you trying to do?" "Will told you we noticed it. And besides, Taranee hasn't even done anything, so she isn't really part of it yet." Cornelia explained. Will put her hand on Hay-Lin's shoulder from right beside her. "Come on, you like him. And though he may not even realize it, I think he has feelings for you." Hay-Lin frowned. _But what if that's not true? I might do something stupid for no reason._" Taranee was getting irritated at Hay-Lin's frowning. "Hay-Lin, don't worry. Nothing's going to go wrong." "At least don't tell me when you're doing this stuff." She requested, walking out. She wanted to find out if something was wrong with Joe, so she decided to check his house. His grandma had gone grocery shopping, and left the door unlocked. The reality was that she had expected Joe to be home soon, but Hay-Lin thought Joe was already home. Upon entering his room, thinking he might have been going back to sleep, she almost left. Almost, until a book caught her eye. Curious, she opened up to the first page.

_Day 1:_

Dear Journal:

Something odd happened today. Something odd and scary. So I have decided to start keeping a journal. I'm shaking as I write, and I think this pen might burn at any second.

Anthony sucks. It was mostly his fault, but I guess I shouldn't have given in to the pressure. Allow me to start from the beginning.

At lunch today, I was planning with Anthony to go hang out at his place. His annoying sister wasn't going to be there, and he has a shit load of Spicy BBQ chips. My favorite flavor. After school, we walked over to his house. It shorter than the thirty-minute walk I like to take after school rather than deal with the bus. Those people are so annoying. Anthony was reminding me of a story he'd said about how the woods on the way over there were supposed to be scary. After today, I don't believe he ever actually went camping in there. I told him he was being paranoid the night he'd supposedly done that; I'd told him that ghosts and disappearing people don't exist. So he dared me to go in. I gave a comment I usually give this kind of crap; I don't feel like it. Naturally, he called me a chicken-shit. I'd gotten that enough from Chad, so I went there. I told Anthony to meet me at his house, but he decided to stay at the entrance to the woods.

Once I was out of site of Anthony, I started walking a bit slower. A wolf cub had decided to show itself, and like an idiot I petted it. Its mother was right behind a tree, and must've thought I was trying to harm it. I like running usually. I usually run as fast I can to get to the crack we call school lunches before the line gets too long. But compared to what I ran like from the wolf, my already track-worthy speed looked like Anthony walking. Unfortunately, the wolf was keeping up just fine. As I finally found a place to hide, I jumped in a cave, landing face first. I was sure that the wolf would smell me and find me, but surprisingly at the moment, the wolf turned and fled in fear.

Shocked, I turned around to catch my breath. Staring at me was a pair of fiery black eyes, with a fiery black aura around them. "Boy, I need a body. Now give me yours!" said a maniacal voice. I always tell myself that anyone on TV who just stands there as something happens to them, instead of moving, is an idiot. Well, I acted like an idiot as this ball of black fire with eyes entered my hand, and the next thing I knew I was at the entrance with Anthony, smelling something burning. I told Anthony I didn't know where the burning came from, though I'm sure I do. When he asked why I was worn out, I told him only about the wolf. On the way home, I bought this journal, and that's all so far. I hope things will get better.

Hay-Lin was in shock more than anything recently had left her. "So this is how Joe became the way he is." Moving on, she decided to read the next page. These two days had been taped back in, she noticed.

_Day 2:_

Dear Journal:

School didn't go too well today. Pencils, microscopes in science, and random research papers were catching fire. The school is already trying to figure out who did it, and I have no memory of the time these things actually caught fire. I just noticed it after everyone else did. The thing from yesterday is enjoying this, I can tell. I believe he caused it. I don't feel like trying to remember this stuff, so I'll stop writing for now.

Joe had decided to stop by while his grandma was gone to pick up his journal. The door was wide open. "I knew it. She thinks I'm coming home." He went to his destination quickly, only to find Hay-Lin reading what he was here to get. "Hay-Lin, what the fuck?!" She turned around and gasped. "Sorry. I didn't mean to read it. It was just there and…" Joe forced it out of her hands. "I'd appreciate it if people would stay out of my shit. Especially this. I thought girls with diaries didn't like them being read. A journal is pretty much the same thing. I figured you, of all people, would have some decency for this." Hay-Lin didn't like the way he was taking this. _I really did do something stupid._ He walked out pissed. He'd been keeping this journal secret as long as he'd had it, and he didn't like the fact that she had read it behind his back. As he headed for the streets, Hay-Lin stood there, sadder than ever.

Joe was still fuming. His pissy mood seemed to be relentless during the past couple of days. He returned to the alley where he had fought Anthony, hoping the empty space would calm him down, his journal in his hand. Unfortunately, Will was walking out of the pet shop after visiting Matt. She could tell right away Joe was angry, so she came over to ask what was wrong. "Joe, is something wrong?" "I'm pissed off, Will. Can't you tell?" "Well where's Hay-Lin? I figured she'd be with you." Joe clenched his fists at this. "Right now she's one of the ones I'm mad at, though I'm mad at the other people more." "What did she do?" The red-head seemed to be curious. Her actual thoughts were: _Is it serious enough to crush Hay-Lin's hopes?_ "She invaded my privacy, on a matter that I don't want _anyone_ knowing about. Not even Anthony if he was still his old self." Furious, Will started giving a lecture. "And what the hell is that important that Hay-Lin can't be involved?" "Does a journal I've been writing since I met Inferno count? That's all I'm saying about it." Now Will was furious. "Damn it, Joe. She was probably just trying to get to know you even better. You've got Taranee's book smarts, but you obviously have no common sense. Since you're too much of a dumbass to notice, let me tell you something. Hay-Lin's liked you since she met you!" There, she'd done it. She'd dropped the bomb. Now it was just how Joe took this news. "Thanks for the confidence booster. Now I know a girl actually likes me. But it doesn't help in this situation. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find a place to think." As he walked off, Will couldn't help but notice he'd lied last night. He wasn't perfectly fine after the battle. _But I'll leave Hay-Lin to cheer him up._ With a devilish grin on her face at the thought, Will walked to Taranee's, hoping to get some tutoring.

In Meridian, Anthony wanted to come back. "I think I weakened him enough after last time. I can beat him." The one holding him back, Jeff, shook his head. "And if you're wrong, and you end up getting hit by the same finishing move, what then?" Anthony shook Jeff off of him. "The bastard betrayed me. I'm not going to take that lying down." "Then wait until Phobos makes the powers permanent. Until then, you may as well train." Anthony, like everyone else so far, was pissed. "Who knows when that'll be?"

**A/N:** Anthony's not too happy. What would happen to Joe if Anthony actually came and attacked while Inferno was asleep? And how will Joe take the news of Hay-Lin's feelings? Hay-Lin might get pissed at Will for telling, but it didn't look like Will regrets it. Please review, and I think this is my longest chapter yet.


	10. Battle at Cavigor My version

**A/N:** The Mage is just that, The Mage. She is not known as Nerissa here, and she will do nothing, even in dramatic irony, to suggest she is. In other words, she is Nerissa but will in no way be mentioned as her. Also, if I get anything wrong about the Cavigor episode, let me know and I'll try and fix it.

"Yan Lin, you must remember what I have just told you." The Mage told the former Guardian, in the basement of the Silver Dragon. "I highly doubt Joe will be unconscious when Inferno wakes up, so we don't have to worry about Inferno taking complete control with no intervention from Joe. However, I will keep an eye out." The Mage sighed, remembering her other news. "If the fire spirit transforms that boy's body two more times, the transformation will be interrupted, and instead of transforming the body and the spirit will separate, and it will be free to do whatever harm it wishes. After it is free, even I am clueless as to what will become of the boy. Finally, I fear Phobos may know the exact same things." The Mage bid Yan Lin farewell, hopping through a portal she created, and left the old woman to brood over this news. _If at any time Joe is unable to put any restraint to Inferno, we could all be doomed._ Yan Lin started wishing that everyone wasn't so pissed off over something.

Hay Lin had come home yesterday angry at Will and sad about Joe. Hay Lin knew that Will had told Joe, and now Hay Lin was no longer her usual happy self. Joe was still not at his own home, and now even the Guardians didn't have any clue as to where he was, since he didn't sleep in his cave last night. Even Joe's grandma was slightly worried, as she had called the restaurant asking if Hay Lin knew Joe's whereabouts earlier today. However, she had enough confidence that he would return that she hadn't bothered alerting anyone of his disappearance, so no one was actually trying to bring him home.

Will was feeling a bit guilty after she had seen Hay Lin's angry face when she'd told Hay Lin that she'd told Joe. She remembered the conversation like it was five minutes ago instead of yesterday.

"_You did **what?!**" Hay Lin shouted, as Will told her what she'd done. "And you don't even seem guilty over it." "Hay Lin, I had to do something to try and calm him down. Besides, now we can totally leave it to fate to decide whether you two will get together." "To hell with fate!" Hay Lin refused to stop shouting, until she finally ran home. She left behind a red head who finally felt a slight pang of guilt as to what she'd done._

Will shuddered at how Hay Lin had acted. "One thing's for sure," she voiced her thoughts aloud, "this is going to affect our powers next time we transform."

Joe was walking into a shoe store with nothing on his feet but socks. He'd used his new flying ability to sleep on top of a building with a small storage shed on top, but the heat from that move was slowly melting his shoes. Luckily for him, Caleb had taught him to fight, and he'd managed to beat up a person who had tried to do the same thing that was tried by the first three people he'd burned here. Rather than incinerate them, Joe simply knocked the guy out and took a $100 bill out of his pocket.

Joe's first action was to ask the cashier if they had anything resistant to heat. The poor dude was puzzled. "Why would you want that? And why are you not wearing shoes now?" Joe had known this was coming. "My brother yesterday got a stupid idea to put my shoes in our furnace to see what they looked like burnt. And since he says it looks cool, I need new shoes that he can't do that to." Oddly enough, the store happened to have a section of shoes for special needs such as this, and Joe walked with the cashier. Neither of them knew whether the proper shoes would actually be there, but eventually Joe was stopped by the cashier, who took a step stool that was lying around and used it to reach the top shelf. These shoes somehow looked like Joe's old ones, and Joe read the label on the box, and they were indeed heat resistant. "Do you like New Balance?" asked the dude who'd pulled them down. Joe nodded, and paid for them. They were only $79, pretty cheap. Joe walked out of the store with them on his feet.

The pyrokinetic kid knew no one would be waiting for him at his cave anymore, so that was his first stop. Rather than gather attention by flying there, he walked, and felt someone following him. Turning around, and finally paying attention to his surroundings, he found himself near the park he trained with Caleb in, he saw Caleb. "Looks like you're on your guard." the young rebel leader stated smugly. "It's time to test how much you've learned. If you pass, I will continue to train you. Otherwise, I'll have to cut your lessons." Joe smirked. _Luckily for him, I don't quite have Inferno's speed._ "I'll take the test, but only if you promise not to mention seeing me at all to anyone. I'd planned to spend the day alone." Caleb nodded in agreement, and prepared a fighting stance.

Caleb's stance involved grabbing a nearby branch on the ground and holding it in front of him. Joe's involved simply standing, looking casual. Caleb shook his head. _So many openings, this will be over fast. _He calmly walked up to Joe, who didn't at all look ready to fight, and swung the branch with both hands. Joe jumped to the side, and brought the elevated end of the stick that was in Caleb's hand down to the ground with his foot, breaking it and leaving Caleb with only a small stick in his hands. Caleb tossed it aside and picked up the part Joe had broken off. Joe finally prepared for a real fight, and began with a crouching stance, defending his lower half and preparing to jump out of the way. _By his stance, it looks like he'll jump back to where he started. He expects me to attack his legs, so he's putting his defense into them. A diagonal strike from the left will easily take care of this. _Caleb did just that, and Joe covered it quickly by grabbing the branch and flipping it over him. Caleb would've been flipped as well if he didn't let go. "Nice strategy. I hunted for an opening that wasn't there." Joe didn't seem to care for the compliment, but instead caught Caleb off guard with a sweeping kick. Caleb jumped over it and as Joe tried to kick Caleb as the rebel landed, Caleb caught his foot. Joe used the levitating trick to make his shoe hot, and Caleb let go.

"You passed." said Caleb to a dumbstruck Joe, as Caleb held his slightly burning hand. "We didn't even spar for long." "You have found a strategy that works for you, and you have shown that you can outwit your foes. I will continue to train you in the afternoons." Caleb walked off, knowing Joe wouldn't tell why he didn't want anyone knowing where he is. "Tell me if the Guardians have a meeting." Joe called out, before turning to the path he was originally taking.

In his cave, Joe finally began reflecting on parts of the past few days. Normally he hated reminiscing, but he couldn't help it here. The one thing that kept coming back in his thoughts was Will's last sentence. _"She's liked you ever since she met you." _ Joe wasn't even sure if he liked her back. _And what would she like about me? I've been nothing but an ass these past few days, I used to try and blow her off on purpose at school for a few days, and as far as anyone knows, Inferno may even break the promise and kill them. They don't even know about that deal anyway._ Joe sighed and looked at his watch. 8:45 p.m. was what was displayed, and it was getting dark out.

**If she likes you, and you like her back but don't think you do, I might have to kill her.** Joe heard this and jumped, hitting his head on the cave ceiling. _What are you doing up?_

**That sparring match, though small, got my sleeping self excited, and woke me up. I've just been quiet.**

_Dammit. You never leave me alone when I want you to. There's always some loophole that keeps you bugging me when I think things are peaceful. GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK! I DON'T NEED YOUR SHIT!_

**Touchy, aren't we? What are we doing in a cave instead of a comfortable bed? No matter, I don't think I'll be able to stay up for tomorrow. I'll be back asleep again by the time school's over.**

Joe chose to ignore him from now on, and went to sleep.

Yan Lin was heading for an early bed. She'd already told Hay Lin what the Mage had told her, and Hay Lin had told the other Guardians. They were all worried as to what might happen; especially if Anthony and Phobos's other new lackeys came back.

The next day, Monday, Joe actually went to school. He was going to try and lead a semi-normal life while he was missing, and going to school was part of that. No one bothered all day to convince Joe to go home, or that it might be a bad idea to go to school while he was a runaway.

Joe went to check out the local bowling alley for fun that night, and Caleb was giving the Guardians incredible news.. "Yes, Elyon's parents. They're in Cavigor. We must rescue them." Caleb mentioned how dangerous it would be, but they didn't really care. And with the Browns back, the Guardians wouldn't have to worry about cover-up stories for Elyon's absences. That would become the Browns' responsibility. They all agreed, filled Joe in when he walked up to them, and they were to do it now. "One thing Joe." Will intervened. "We can't have Inferno transform again. If he does two more times, you and him will separate, leaving him to cause free destruction. So if he takes control, you must find a way to restrain his transformation." Inside, Inferno could've danced with glee. He was finally going to be free he hoped. No human body, but his own physical form.

Will, Cornelia, Caleb, Blunk and Joe had finally found the Browns. They were tired from fighting off the Scuttlers. The prisoners seemed to be 'high', like they were smoking grass. Caleb explained that it must be the food. Just as they were about to open the portal, Phobos showed up with his Knights of the Empire, Anthony, Jeff, and Bess Grumper. The other Knights were apparently on the surface, warding off the distraction from the other Guardians. Phobos saw the portal and assumed that's how they got in. "Welcome, tired Guardians. Keeper of the Heart, I believe you have something belonging to my family. Give me the Seal and Phobos, and the Heart of Candracar with it." he demanded, shooting magic on the portal and somehow closing, blocking their escape. "I don't know how you did that, but we will get these prisoners to safety." Will retorted with fake confidence. They were tired from the journey here, and they were up against the Knights of the Empire and Phobos himself. Anthony took the initiative and caught the tired Joe off guard, with an electrified punch to knock Joe out. His fights with the Scuttlers had must've done the same thing his sparring match with Caleb had done. Inferno woke up, and Joe's body started moving, glowing with the back fire. "Don't worry Guardians." came Inferno's voice, "I don't think I'll need to transform for this. It would waste my energy."

He seemed to be right. They were underground, so Anthony couldn't summon the lightning storm that nearly kicked Inferno's ass last time. Anthony was still puzzled. There were clues saying that it wasn't Joe, but all he could believe was what his eyes told him. "Joe, I will kill you." Anthony electrified his fist, and Inferno lit Joe's on fire. Their fists collided, leaving the feeling of power all over the air around them.

Cornelia and Bess were using part of their powers on the roof. Bess was trying to bring it down on the Guardians and prisoners; Cornelia was trying to keep it up. The prison was shaking as they did this, and they were using the rest of their powers to fight each other physically. Cornelia was raising columns of earth to try and crush Bess between them and the ceiling, while Bess dodged and used the roots that snaked their way from trees to breach the walls and wrap around Cornelia, who was trying to dodge these while keeping up the roof and her attacks. The Earth users were going to be truly tired after this.

"Didn't I knock your as out twice last time we met?" Will asked Jeff, as he started a dust storm around Will. "You won't get so lucky this time." he responded. While Will was blinded by the dust storm, Jeff knocked her square in the face, and she fell to the floor rubbing her cheek. She sent a jolt of energy into the dust storm, which Jeff hadn't left yet. She almost chuckled as she saw Blunk hide behind a prisoner, while Caleb stood there confused. "No one told me Joe was possessed." He said aloud, and Will brought her thoughts back to the fight. Jeff was also on his butt from the jolt, and the small dust storm subsided.

Above, Courtney was shooting earth at Taranee, while blocking Taranee's fire balls with walls of rock that she would raise. Irma and Martin were duking it out near the river in a water match. Finally, Hay Lin and Uriah had created a fiery tornado when their powers connected with each other; both were trying to use their power to send the flaming cyclone back at the opponent; neither would give up this battle of will. Finally, Uriah decided to get to her mentally. "Give up. Your friends are probably already losing to the other Knights, since the Scuttlers are extremely tough monsters to get past. You're only embarrassing yourself trying to persevere. I especially can't wait to see that Joe kid die." Hay Lin gasped, but rather than make her drop her guard, she got angry and put much more force behind her wind, so she ended up overpowering Uriah. He stopped and got out of the way just in time. He had been on the ramparts of the prison's upper section, so he found a part of the walls to hide behind while the fire came at him. The brick protected him, and he concentrated enough to create a flaming bird behind Hay Lin. The bird swiftly struck Hay Lin from behind before disappearing, and Hay Lin's wings were burned. She couldn't stay in the air much longer without having to use her powers to do so.

Underground, the fights were still going strong. Finally, as Phobos saw his Knights running out of magic, he gave them an order. "Focus on the young fire warrior here. Make him transform." Will gasped. _The Mage was right. Phobos knew as well._ Inferno smirked, and said "Bring it on." Inferno dodged a rock slab Bess had thrown at him, and in mid jump got trapped in Jeff's wind, while Anthony shocked the hell out of him. Bess and Anthony continued attack while Jeff held Inferno. For a few minutes, Inferno managed to take it, but enough was enough. The entire area was full of heat, as Guardian, Knight, and prisoners alike were thrown by the force of Inferno's anger as he transformed. The black fire symbol on Joe's hand was burning bright during the blast, and Joe's hair began to get long quick. As it grew, the hair turned grey, and from the mark armor started appearing. First gloves, then arm pieces, a chest plate, a helmet, and then anything below. The armor, as usual, appeared from nowhere. And Joe's mind was still unconscious, so stopping the transformation was out of the question.

Inferno started concentrating on Jeff, the one who'd held him prisoner in wind. Jeff didn't see Inferno as he swiftly used a black fire punch to Jeff's back, and the boy who'd been using a bit more power than anyone else was knocked out, his magic gone. Will and Cornelia knew Inferno would only attack them if they got in the way, and they stood no chance. Cornelia eyed Caleb, telling him with the look not to interfere. Caleb nodded, and continued to stand idly watching Inferno take care of the also tired Bess. "Why are you guys so easy today?" asked Inferno to Anthony, the only one left standing besides Phobos. "I knew we shouldn't have wasted magic practicing." At that moment, Joe's mind woke up from the exhaustion. _Inferno, you've already fought him, and he's a bit worn out. Leave him alone. _**Why? **_Because I want you to._ Joe's mind began to push Inferno back inside, as Joe's body slumped to the floor and changed to its human form. Phobos smirked. _Phase one complete._ With a green flash, Phobos and his other Knights appeared to turn black, and then disappeared, leaving Will to release the prisoners.

At the castle, the Knights were angry. Martin was the first to speak up. "We were handling them just fine at the surface. Why'd you call us back as well?" Phobos swiftly ran up to the nerd and slapped him. "I have my reasons. Don't question me again. Things are going according to plan." As if on cue, Cedric and Miranda came through the throne room door. "My lord, we found it." said the shape-shifter in her spider form. Cedric had a green pendant in his hands, and he was in human form. "We have for you the Heart of Meridian." Phobos ran swiftly, again, and snatched it. "And now, your powers will be permanent." Phobos lifted the pendant to his Knights, including Anthony who was fat, and the fat man became skinny and the others were filled with power. "Even I can't make you lose your magic now." Phobos stated. _And with this pendant, that fire spirit will be mine to use._ Behind the door, Elyon almost gasped, but caught herself. Phobos's warriors now had unlimited energy. She would have to get news of this to the Guardians. After she was gone, Phobos had given another order to the Knights. "You must force Joe to transform again. Then my rule here, with you guys as my enforcers, will be assured for eternity." Confused, the others just watched as Phobos let out an evil laugh. How would making a powerful enemy help them?

**A/N:** How did Phobos find this information? Has he been sneaking on my pc? And how will he use the Heart of Meridian to get the 'fire spirit'? Wasn't the Mage supposed to have a tight grip on that thing? She must've dropped it somewhere.


	11. The Shit Hits The Fan

**A/N:** The title name actually names the purpose of this chapter. Most of the action is saved for next chapter, but don't worry. There's still some here. Some of the things I've been planning for a long time will begin here, including the separation. I've been planning that since the beginning.

By the way, sorry it took longer than usual to update. I've been busy with a poetry project for English, helping my Mom move, doing work for my grandpa on account of his injured back, and I recently checked out Piercing the Darkness by Frank E. Peretti.

_One more time. And he's managed **twice** in a row to awaken early. I'm hoping he'll stay gone for awhile. And damn this storm._ Joe focused his thoughts on the storm that was raging outside the cave. _Other than the renewed **fear**_ _of the asshole inside me, I think I like this cave. Nice and quiet. _Joe could almost hear the thoughts of the sleeping spirit. He could picture himself and Inferno in his mind; Inferno sleeping with Joe standing there, listening to Inferno yell in his sleep. **I want out!** He could almost hear Inferno yelling that. Joe shuddered. "What will happen to me when he gets out? And other than that, will the Guardians be able to defeat him?" He wondered aloud. As a streak of lightning was shown in the direction of his house, Joe finally let sleep take over him. He'd been living like this all week, and it was finally Saturday. He could go back to sleep after the sun woke him up. He managed to start working with Hay Lin's grandma after school, and after a session with Caleb, for some small cash and free food. The money was probably going to be saved for when he was temporarily tired of Chinese food.

"What?!" Yan Lin asked the cop the next morning. "Yes, I need to find the kid. I understand he's been working here. Do you know where he is?" "No. And with this news, I feel sorry for him. He isn't scheduled to come in until Monday, but he's my granddaughter's friend so I might see him beforehand. I'll tell him of the lightning strike." The officer nodded politely and left. Yan Lin walked out of the door when he'd left. _Could it be a coincidence that lightning killed his grandma last night, and lightning is his enemy?_ Inside, Hay Lin heard it all. She ran outside past her grandma and went to find Joe. Yan Lin could tell this was her intent, and did not ask questions.

"The search for Courtney and Bess Grumper, Uriah Dunn, Martin Tubbs, Jeff Rogers, and Anthony Brock (who doesn't live in Heatherfield, but was last seen here) is still going on, but with no luck. Police continue to be baffled as to whether the disappearances of these teenagers is connected or not, and still have no idea if they are even still in the area. Tom, why don't you tell them the next bit of news?" Hay Lin heard from a T.V. in a shop while she was heading towards the cave. "Sure Stacie. Lightning struck the house of Melva Vickers during last night's storm. The house is in ruins, and the Vickers woman was found dead, electrocuted. As hard as it is to believe that lightning struck her directly, there is good news. Yesterday afternoon at 4:36 p.m., she had reported to the police that a week ago her grandson, Joe Nash, had run away from home. She refused to give an exact reason as to his runaway, but being away apparently saved his life. Police plan to pick him up at school, where he has still been going since running away, to deal with any legal matters involving who he will live with after this ordeal. That's all we know, and that's all for today's news broadcast." Hay Lin stopped listening, and continued to the cave. She stopped outside it, tired from hurrying. She walked in, only to find a bag of clothes he must've retrieved some day from his house, and leftover Chinese from last night. "Where is he?"

Joe had been on top of the shop building hanging out when he'd heard the broadcast involving Anthony and the other Knights. He hadn't noticed Hay Lin running past on the street below and thus didn't say hi or anything. After the brief news about the search for the Knights, Joe lost interest for a few seconds. Those few seconds ended when he heard "Sure Stacie. Lightning struck the house of Melva Vickers during last night's storm." Joe froze in shock, after sitting upright. _Hold it in, Joe. You're supposed to prove you're more stubborn than her. _These thoughts failed after a few minutes as he started shaking, a single tear falling. "You weren't supposed to die." he mumbled. He remembered the words from the last sentence of that news flash. "Fuck the police. Lightning didn't hit her. I will bring him back, but not to kill him. He will see the police for her murder, even if I have to reveal Inferno to prove it was him!"

In the throne room, Phobos was laughing. Inferno would be brought out quicker. "And what's more; he thinks Anthony did it. That boy isn't that heartless." Continuing his maniacal laughing, he heard the knock on the door. "Come in." Anthony peered inside, wondering what had Phobos so damn happy. "Sir, is something going right?" "I have figured out the rest of the plan. You will attack Joe Monday. Only you will go on this mission. The others will prevent the Guardians from interfering. All you'll need to do is challenge him, and he will meet you at the gym at 8 p.m." Anthony was almost skeptical as to how Joe would accept the challenge so willingly. He shrugged it off, however, and headed for a portal. "He never said I couldn't make the challenge early."

"How do you think Joe's taking the news, if he's heard?" asked Will. It was later that night. Taranee had called everyone and got Will to arrange a meeting after hearing the news. They were gathered at Taranee's. "I'm worried about Inferno. He's come out early once. This could trigger the final transformation." "Since when are you serious, Irma?" Cornelia said sarcastically. "I worry that he'll die when Inferno comes out." Hay Lin said for the umpteenth time. "Hay Lin, we get it. I'm not trying to be rude, but we can't get anywhere thinking about that." Taranee spoke up. "We should focus on one question: Was the lightning that hit her natural, or Anthony." That silenced everyone. They understood Anthony's feelings towards Joe, but they'd heard a bit about his old self from Joe and didn't want to think he'd do something like this. They heard a knock on the door, and Joe's apparently angry voice from behind the door. As he entered, Hay Lin hugged him, which left Joe standing there. "I guess… um… you heard about…" Hay Lin stuttered. They all saw the look of hatred on Joe's face. "Monday at 8, we will get him." He said. "We met up tonight." As Joe told his story, everyone listened attentively.

_Joe was coming out of the cave, after getting a quick bite of his leftovers. "Eating Chinese in a cave? Wow, something must've fucked you up." Joe knew that voice. He turned around to face the murderer. "I have a proposition for you." Joe was too pissed to speak, so he simply nodded. "One last fight. One on one at the Sheffield Institute gym at 8 p.m. on Monday. No Guardian help, either." Joe nodded, and was about to speak when Anthony ran off, leaving Joe to plot the battle._

"I'm not as fast without using Inferno, and that could be disastrous. So I was thinking you guys use those Astral Drops you told me about to distract the Knights, who I'm sure will be there if I know villains like I think I do, and you fly in to help." The group took a good look at Joe, wondering when he'd become that strategic. "So you want us to make sure that Anthony is stopped by interfering if it looks like Inferno will take over." Joe nodded. By talking about it, he'd calmed down enough to get the angry look off his face, though he would never admit something like that had worked. There wasn't much talk after that before Joe went, but he couldn't help but notice his mind concentrating on Hay Lin after the he'd calmed down. In the fiery plain of his and Inferno's body, he could almost picture Inferno, still asleep, making fun of him. _I still don't know exactly how I feel about her, but at this rate I don't have long to figure myself out._ In the cave, Joe pulled out the final object he'd ever retrieved from home. His mp3 player was blasting a wordless song called You're Not Alone, with the listener remembering how much he'd liked Final Fantasy.

Sunday

Joe awoke in the cave as the sun rose. Groggily, he tried to go back to sleep. _Damn sun is pissing me off._ He thought. However, try as he might, sleep would not come. _Maybe I should try and figure it out while I'm awake._ He headed towards the park where he'd had his test from Caleb. Silently lying down on a bench, he put his mind to work and focused on the memories of his times here, hoping they would give him some answers.

Caleb was standing in front of Cornelia's house, about to ask her out on a date for later tonight. Before he managed to make his presence known to the Hales, he heard some shuffling behind him. He also heard the crackling sound of electricity being released. _Anthony._ "What do you want?" "Security. If I have a hostage, the Guardians won't interfere tomorrow." Caleb turned around to face the skinny Anthony, but also saw the Grumpers. "Don't try to fight back." said Courtney. "You'd fight well against a normal person, but against us you'd only hurt yourself." Anthony pointed towards the rebel leader with his electricity-charged right hand, closing his fist as the energy was sent zooming at Caleb. Caleb had already prepared to jump before the arm was pointed, and easily jumped out of the way. Bess placed her hand on the ground, and Caleb was immediately encased up to his shoulders in rock. He struggled to get out, but to no avail. The earth held him tight. _This should at least back Cornelia off._ Courtney smirked at the work her sister had done. They walked off, with no one around to witness the kidnapping, and with Caleb feeling stupid for being so easily outdone.

Hay Lin was preparing to find Joe. She could tell they might fail tomorrow in stopping the transformation. She wanted to find out while she still how much Joe liked her. As she walked out the door, she told her grandma goodbye and left for the cave, only to find him at the park instead. "Joe, there's something I want to ask you." Joe sat up from his bench, and stared at her. "I want to ask you something as well. What attracts you to me?" Hay Lin thought about the best way to explain it. _Fuck it. I'll just wing it._ "Well, it was mostly you're 'I don't care' attitude before the Knights showed up. You taught me that I can deal with life by not thinking about the past too much. In other words, I guess you could say you made me believe in the future. We've had so many setbacks in our lives as Guardians, and Phobos keeps getting more and more things right. If Elyon hadn't overheard him, I'd think we were totally screwed. You've made that 'defense mechanism' I talked about on your roof into the real me." Joe sighed. "That's odd. To be honest, I found that I liked the defense mechanism. It's like we had similar personalities, but mine was negative and yours was positive. I think I like you, as well." Remembering that night, Joe laughed. "I told myself after you left my roof that night that if I could get rid of Inferno and trust myself to have friends, you'd be the first. But we didn't even have to wait that long to be friends, and if I knew whether I'd live to see Tuesday I'd ask if we could be more." Hay Lin let out an odd expression. It was life a half-smile, half frown. _It figures. I get some good news, but it's offset by a bad possibility._ "Mind if I sit here with you for awhile?" Joe shook his head. "Go ahead." They sat there for what seemed like eternity, and Joe dozed off. When he woke up, he was back in the cave. _Hay Lin must've brought me here. I knew I should've gone back to sleep at sunrise, but maybe it was better that I didn't. _Of course, it was sunset when he woke up. _Damn it!_

Monday at last

Joe knew they were looking for him. But the police wouldn't find him. _They probably think I actually went to school today._ Joe was exceptionally glad he didn't, not only for the police but for the fact that the last people he wanted to see right now were those annoying teachers.

Will had already made the Astral Drops. They were hiding in Cornelia's room, just sitting there. They'd been told to wait until 7:30 and then head for the gym. The real Guardians were sitting anxiously in their classes. _Possibly the final battle with the knights this evening._ Cornelia sat in English, the world's worst subject. _Why do I get the feeling that everything will change after this battle?_

After school, Anthony was in the gym, getting things ready. Caleb was behind the bleachers, and Anthony had decided to take this time of privacy to talk to him. "What do you want?" Caleb asked, still encased in rock. "To talk. Understand one thing: I don't really plan to kill you. I'm not that heartless, and I think hostage situations suck. I'm just suggesting that you go along with this out of fear of what Bess will do to you." "Why do you care?" Anthony lowered his head. "Because I may want to fight Joe, but killing someone else in the process wouldn't allow it to feel right." With that, Anthony left. It was 7:00. Only an hour left until the fight.

"I'm here, former fat ass." shouted Joe at 8:03. "And I have a question." "Yes?" Anthony appeared from behind the set of bleachers opposite of where Caleb was held. "Why'd you kill her?" Anthony was taken aback. "Kill who?" he asked. "Don't lie. You're the reason my grandma is dead!" "The lady's dead? I don't know why you're blaming me, and I don't care." Anthony charged up his fist, and connected it with Joe's arm faster than Joe could keep up with. "I thought you were faster. You get lazier over the week?" Joe's arm had gone numb for a few seconds from the shock. _Damn. Not only don't I have Inferno's speed, but I don't have the endurance either._ Anthony moved his hand and arm so that he could elbow Joe in the face, and Joe flew into a bleacher, already in a lot of pain.

Uriah aimed his best fireball to destroy the Guardians. They were nothing by the time the fireball was done. "You'd think they'd come more prepared than that, wouldn't you Jeff?" he asked. He looked over to his side. Jeff and the Grumpers weren't there. Martin had already been in the gym guarding Caleb, which meant they must've gone in as well to watch the fight. "Why'd they leave me?" he asked himself as he went to the gym.

The Guardians had sneaked in while Anthony was looking at Joe, who was lying on a bleacher still. "Hey Corny, seen your boyfriend?" asked Courtney Grumper from behind. "You didn't think we'd be tricked so easily did you?" With a snap of her fingers, Bess, who was beside Courtney, had Caleb come out from behind the bleachers. The entire group gasped as they saw the rebel leader encased in rock. "If you interfere, I crush him." said Bess. The women were forced to stand by and watch, as Joe got up only to be pummeled by Anthony. "Start trying!" Anthony screamed. He kept exchanging blow after blow with Joe's chest and stomach. Finally, Joe was out. "Humph. He didn't even get in a blow. I wonder what happened." **I'm coming!** Everyone heard it. The demonic voice seemed to be coming from Joe, yet from outside him at the same time. "You're coming to your senses? You're ready to fight?" Anthony asked, fear in his voice as he thought about what was said, or more the voice that said it. Joe's body rose up limply into the air. His hand bore a blackfire symbol again, but as Anthony curiously watched the symbol, he saw it split into two symbols: one black, one red-orange. A flash of light that almost looked like an explosion came from Joe's body, and it stayed there, blinding everyone for a few minutes.

When the flash left, there were two things in Joe's place. Inferno himself, the blackfire aura surrounding him as usual, and a small, single flame that slowly fell to the ground and stayed there, burning. "So, he was somehow turned into a flame. I will stamp him out when I am done here. But first, I will break a promise." Inferno looked towards the stunned Guardians. "I told him I wouldn't harm you, but I am separate from him, and he obviously can't do anything about it." Behind him, the fire grew bigger, but insignificantly, and was not noticed by anyone except Taranee. Before Taranee could stop noticing it, she had Inferno's knee to her gut. Anthony was wondering what was going on. _Could I have made a mistake?_ The other Guardians had flown up, and Will was about to attack Inferno when he appeared behind her. _How is he this fast? Could being with Joe have slowed him down? _"I hate lightning users." said Inferno as he rammed his elbow into Will's neck. Below, the fire continued growing, and seemed to be taking a shape. Will dropped, and Irma started attacking Inferno with huge bursts of water. Inferno put up the blackfire aura and the water hit it, only to evaporate and become steam. Fear stricken, Irma kept blasting him as he charged at her, finally ramming her. Irma flew into Cornelia, and they both hit the wall. "Now all that's left awake is the little breeze. And what a breeze it will be." He was about to move, Hay Lin watching in fear, when he heard a voice he thought he'd never hear again. "Fuck off!" Inferno turned around, only to get knocked in the face in mid-air, hitting the same wall as Irma and Cornelia.

Phobos had found a portal close to the gym, and was walking in to fulfill his plan. "What?!" he exclaimed, as he witnessed Inferno get the smack down. He didn't even notice the Guardians on the floor. There, where he'd slapped Inferno, was something that looked very similar to the fire spirit. In fact, the only thing really different was the color scheme. This being's long hair was yellow, not blonde but really yellow, and where Inferno had smoke grey armor, this being's armor was red. The aura around this warrior looked like actual fire. The joints were still black, but the eyes were actually red-orange. "Joe?" Phobos heard the Air Guardian ask. _This would pique my interest._ Phobos looked at both of the fiery warriors. _I guess I could stay to watch this fight!_

**A/N: **Yep. It's here. The separation, with a twist. The battle will begin next chapter.


	12. Fire's Darkness vs Fire's Light

**A/N: **This chapter is more or less fight. Thus it'll probably be short and a bit repetitive.

"Inferno, you never cease to amaze me. You took over my body plenty of times, transformed my body, went to sleep, lost control for a month, and then found a way to awaken early. And finally, as you left me, you must've accidentally left me with your power." stated the transformed and totally in control Joe. "Does that mean you can handle my powers for yourself?" asked the evil twin. "Since I was in the same body, I felt everything you did to use your abilities." As a demonstration, after Inferno got off the wall, Joe appeared behind him and gave Inferno another knock on the head. Before Inferno returned, Joe turned to the only remaining Guardian awake. "Don't try and help. He'll only hurt you." Hay Lin nodded in approval, and let the empowered boy do his work. Phobos was still curious about the fight, and clung onto the Heart of Meridian in his pocket, not noticing the fact that the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar was out. _What have I done? Was it really Joe fighting me, or this Inferno creature?_ Anthony asked himself this question, now totally confused. He didn't know what to do, except stand there and make sure his fellow Knights didn't interrupt the fight that Anthony just got kicked out of.

Inferno was aiming rapid-fire punches at Joe's face, but Joe kept moving his head over or ducking at the same speeds, and tried a back kick while he ducked one more time. Inferno caught Joe's foot and spun around, launching the flaming hero into a basketball goal, shattering the glass on the back of the hoop. Dazed, Joe barely dodged Inferno's next punch as the enemy charged at him. As he dodged, Joe aimed a good knee into Inferno's head, and Inferno managed to lower his head in time. "Nice try, little boy. But only the original can win this fight." said the cocky spirit as he righted himself up in the air and kicked Joe in the face. Joe again went flying, and Inferno put out his hand and shot Joe with a few fireballs at lightning speed. Joe's body jerked with every fireball hitting it, and Joe went out a window above the bleachers. Inferno followed him, only to be met with a few fireballs to the face as Joe recovered himself in the air. Every conscious person in the gym ran out the door to catch the rest of the fight, and Bess had forgotten to leave her seal on Caleb intact, so he ran out as well. Hay Lin had used her air powers to put the other Guardians gently on the bleachers before flying out the broken window to watch her favorite guy on Earth fight. Joe flew lower to dodge a kick from Inferno and came behind Inferno to deliver his own, after which Inferno flew down on Joe and kicked his forehead. Joe retaliated, after grabbing his forehead in pain, by lighting his fists on fire and spinning around with his arms stretched out, hitting Inferno multiple times. Some of the fire got loose and almost rained on Phobos. Hay Lin was in the background, cheering on Joe; Phobos was silently cheering on Inferno after dodging the raining flames; and the Knights, who didn't know their master's plans with the spirit, just sat there confused and enjoying the action.

Across the street, Ted Olsen was watching signs of fire breaking out and heard a window break. "Some kids are messing at the Sheffield Institute gym. I'd better call the police when I get home." he said, and left the area heading towards the shop.

Inferno kept getting more ticked as the battle went on. Joe was proving to be as powerful as him. "I see that the so-called 'rebel leader' taught you well." said Inferno as he took a nearby tree by the top of the trunk. The tree was just thin enough for Inferno to wrap his arms around it, and he uprooted it and swung it at Joe in one swift move. Joe flew farther than ever, and Inferno swiftly gave chase. _I knew Inferno would be strong, but a damn tree?_ This gave Joe an idea. If Inferno had this strength and they had the same powers, perhaps Joe could do the same. Joe recovered, and dropped to the ground before Inferno could strike, bracing himself before hitting the earth. Only Hay Lin and Jeff could fly, so only they could follow to watch the fight. That didn't stop Phobos and Anthony from walking, however. Joe picked up a nearby truck, and flung it at Inferno, who was charging at him. Inferno simply turned up the fire that surrounded him, and any part of the truck that would've hit Inferno melted around him. _Damn. Well, it was worth a shot._ Joe jumped back as Inferno punched ground instead, leaving dirt flying everywhere in a circle. "This is some real DBZ bull shit." said Joe, though he remembered liking Goku's fight with Kid Buu.

In the gym, Will groggily woke up. Clutching where she was hit, she flew up to see the effects the gym had to deal with after the fight. Seeing the broken window, Will flew out and saw the Knights and Caleb about to walk off, presumably to the rest of the fight. Seeing Hay Lin and Jeff in the air and Phobos and Anthony already running off, Will assumed that was the right direction. She found Inferno punching ground and a similar figure jumping back as she caught up with the air warriors. _Is that Joe?_ Will asked herself, surprised. "What did I miss while I was knocked out?" Will asked Hay Lin, who turned around startled. "Will, it's good that you're awake. Joe and Inferno are having an admittedly awesome but still worrisome battle, and I'm wondering what Phobos is doing here." "He's here because he has plans." said Jeff. "We were supposed to make the boy transform, and I think the prince knew they would separate, but he must've been surprised about this battle. Any attempt to stop them would be futile, unless you want third degree burns and a fist to the face." Will watched the battle; already sure the yellow-haired warrior was their friend.

"Give up already!" shouted Inferno, aiming a high kick at Joe. They were back in the air, duking it out with more melees. Joe did a back-flip in response, and his left foot connected with Inferno. Before anything else could happen, Joe saw the police station not to far from them. He also saw that the police were getting in a couple of cars. _Dammit. Did someone see us?_ Joe knew he'd have to end it quickly. Spotting Will, he found just such an opportunity. Inferno came in with more punches and kicks, and Joe kept dodging. "Will, when I get some distance between me and him, I need you to shoot lightning at me as powerful as you can." he said between blows. Will nodded, unsure of what was going to happen. But Hay Lin had been there at the end of the first fight between Inferno and Anthony. _Electric Flame was a powerful technique._ Hay Lin remembered. Between a set of blows Inferno was trying to pull off, Joe surprised the menace with a fireball to the face. Inferno tried to clear his face of fire, but Joe gave him as hard a punch as possible, and Inferno zoomed off towards the building across the street. Joe nodded to Will, who shot at him the best she could. Joe let his hand up in front of the blast, and an electric-blue fireball was in between his hand and the electricity. The energy kept coming, making the ball bigger and causing it to crackle with energy. Down below, Phobos kept his hand on the Heart in his robe, knowing he would have to use it soon. Inferno was oblivious to the attack until it was too late, as he came charging full speed at Joe. Before Inferno could put on the breaks, Joe had launched his attack at the spirit. The still moving Inferno and the electric fireball collided, and Inferno fell to the ground, tired. Joe was about to deliver a final blow, when a green beam of energy shot towards Inferno from Phobos, and Inferno was gone. Phobos looked at the Heart, and could clearly see the evil manifestation of fire in his grasp. "And if you want out, you'll serve me." Phobos said. Like he did the day the Knights were created, he managed to disappear without a trace, and Joe finally felt tired himself. When Joe landed, his hair turned back to its original color, as well as his eyes, and the hair retreated into his head. The armor loosened around him, and seemingly slithered into his hand, where a symbol of fire could be seen, only red-orange. Hay Lin and Will landed beside him. "I guess it's not permanent, this transformation." said Will. "But I kind of figured this mark would get off my hand, not change color." Joe replied. "Maybe it only changes color for whoever controls the power in you. Since you control it, it has that color." Hay Lin offered. Joe figured if life ever returned to normal, he could just tell people it was a tattoo. Despite Joe's tired feelings, he couldn't help but literally jump for joy when he realized he was in total control. "I'm free! I'm free!" he exclaimed. He saw the police cars on the street, and stopped. Hay Lin went to get the others from the gym, and saw only Caleb outside. The Knights must've left as well. Hay Lin flew through the window, woke everyone up, and they all met up in the cave.

By now, everyone had been woken up, and were bombarding Joe with questions like "How did it feel?" or "Did you enjoy kicking his ass?" and the like. Finally, Hay Lin asked what Joe was hoping someone would ask. "Where do we go from here?" Joe had the answer. "Phobos took Inferno, meaning Phobos somehow plans to use him. We may have to face them all at once soon." Taranee, the other pyrokinetic, was curious as to one thing. "Can you transform at will?" Joe shrugged, and let them know he was about to try. The new symbol on Joe's hand glowed as he closed his eyes, and could feel his hair growing long. Joe quivered with excitement as he felt the armor appear from the symbol, and make its way onto Joe's skin. He was in complete control. Joe immediately interrupted the transformation before it was complete, feeling that was enough. "We'll all think of a plan tomorrow." said Caleb. "For now," Will intervened, "we rest and celebrate our half-ass victory."

The Guardians and Caleb left one by one, with Hay Lin staying behind the longest. "Good night." she said, smiling at him. _Maybe now the negative can become positive._

**A/N:** lol It feels wierd to post such short chapters again. Review, dammit!


	13. Prelude to the End

Walking through the halls of the castle, Anthony was reflecting upon the way things had turned out after last night. _He split in two. And I remember that demonic voice from our first fight. Also, the one the Guardians treated as Joe wasn't the grey thing I'd fought._ Anthony started pulling at his hair. "Why can't I figure it out? And was he truly against me the whole time, or was that the grey one fighting me?" Frustrated, Anthony heard noises from the nearby throne room. He peeked in to find the one the Guardians weren't rooting for last night.

Inferno sat in the throne room, angry, and was about to go out on Phobos before Phobos let him back into the Heart of Meridian. "Now, I can keep you in there where you're forced to listen to me, or we can talk in open space. Make your pick." Inferno sighed, and Phobos let him out. "What do you want with me?" asked the angry spirit. "I'd like to make a deal that will help you get rid of that brat Joe, and help me destroy the Guardians. I want you to enter my body, but give me control over it." Inferno didn't like it. "Why should I?" "One: I can seal you back in here any time I like. Two: If you and I work together as one body, we can become more powerful than our enemies can ever imagine. And finally: As only a spirit with no body, the boy and the Guardians can do what they almost did last night. They almost destroyed you. And finally, to ensure my reign over Meridian I need the Heart of Candracar's power. If you do this, I will give you partial reign over Earth when I take it over." Inferno began liking it, but didn't like the way he'd said a few of those things. "Fine. By the way, Phobos, I noticed Anthony's surprise when Joe told him he'd killed his grandma. Who really did it?" Phobos smiled evilly. "Sometimes you have to take lives to rule over even more." Behind the wall, Anthony had to hold back a cry of anger. He listened a bit more as Phobos began to continue his rant. "I had to make sure that Joe would agree to the battle to get you two to separate. I just didn't think he'd get any power. We both know that before that, Joe didn't really want to kill Anthony. In fact, he wanted his best friend back." Anthony snuck off down the halls, determined to find a portal when he found Elyon just within hearing range of the same conversation. "Don't worry, I'll inform the Guardians for you." "How did you know?" asked the princess. "You sneaking in on Phobos's conversations? I just figured it out seeing you here. Take me to a portal." said Anthony. Elyon agreed, and led Anthony out of the castle.

The sun woke Joe up again. He knew school was a bad idea with the police trying to move him away, so he tried going back to sleep. The sound of a car kept him alert, however. Peeking out, he saw two policemen getting out. "Spread out. This is the only place in town we haven't checked yet." said one to the other. Joe quickly found a pile of rocks in the corner of the cave and put them on top of his stuff as to cover it up. Then Joe quickly ran out while the police were looking in the back of their car for something, presumably a flashlight to search the caves. When they were out of sight, Joe flew off to gain more distance faster.

The Guardians met at lunch, where a few people were clamoring around the wall where Cedric had attacked many weeks ago, wondering how Inferno had sent the boy away and taken his place. "Those guys are idiots to still believe that." said Irma, looking at Martin who seemed to be leading the investigation. "Does anyone else get the feeling something is going to happen today?" asked Taranee. "In case you haven't noticed Taranee," said Cornelia, "ever since Joe came along he's been tied to a lot of things that have happened. It's probably all Inferno's fault." Everyone else sat in silence, wondering if things truly wouldn't have been as bad if Inferno never existed. "If Joe hadn't moved here," said Irma, "The most powerful Knight wouldn't even be there. Anthony wouldn't have come along, and who knows. Maybe Phobos wouldn't have even sent Cedric here that one day, which seems to have started this anyway." The rest of lunch consisted of talk like this, and eventually the bell to the last few classes rang. "See you guys later."

Joe had been around town all day, wondering how this place had so many random police around town. He could hardly hide from the all. _One place they won't look would probably be home._ Joe decided on this course of action. It was almost time for school to let out, but the police were probably keeping an eye on Yan Lin's restaurant so he decided not to go to work.

Anthony had on a pair of sunglasses and a jacket Elyon gave him from her old wardrobe to disguise himself, as people were probably looking for him. _Why does she have a guy's jacket in her clothes?_ He asked himself. Since he was skinny and wearing these things, no one would mistake him for his old self not matter how closely they looked at his face. _Should I try his house? It's the only place I can think of._ Anthony headed right for the house he'd seen a beer of his thrown out in. _I just realized how long I've lived without alcohol. Maybe I should quit._ Anthony smiled at the thought, and remembered in a way that alcohol had started his fighting with Joe.

Joe stood on the front lawn of his old house, and fell to his knees. "I'm going to kill him for this." Joe said as he looked on at the ruins of his old house. Joe heard the grass flattening as someone stepped on it. "Holy shit. I didn't know it was this bad." said the one Joe believed to be the murderer. "You have a lot of guts to show up here, former fat-ass." "Whoa. I just came here to talk. I want to be your friend again, if I can be sure you haven't really betrayed me." "Liar! You plan to stab me in the back again, this time probably literally." For some reason, the street was empty of people, but Joe's last outburst probably got a few people looking through the windows. "Joe, I didn't kill her." said Anthony. The mark on Joe's hand began glowing brilliant orange, as Joe got ticked. _He continues to lie._ Anthony did nothing to try and prevent Joe from the transformation. He had to be sure who was really in control in that alley. _If it's not grey, I'll know for sure. You never know with magic._ The hair began to grow and change color, as the armor just appeared to come out of the fire mark on Joe's hand. Joe clenched his fists as the armor tightened itself to fit him. "Feel the consequences of that dare in the woods months ago." said Joe, finally revealing to Anthony just what happened in those woods. "Great. Now he thinks it's my fault he met that spirit. This will be tough."

Yan Lin was getting her own room straightened up out of boredom when a portal appeared in her room, scaring the fuck out of her. Out of the portal came a bald man whom Yan Lin seemed to treat with respect. "Oracle. So glad to see you if I didn't think this had something to do with all the stuff that's been going on over the past month and a half or so. What brings you here?" The Oracle sighed. "We think we have a solution to the 'Inferno' problem. However, we must recollect the Heart of Meridian with the spirit trapped in it for it to work. It can undo all the damage related to this chain of events." Yan Lin nodded, knowing he would explain without question. "We have a special method of turning back the clock in emergencies, as you know. Well, we believe Phobos plans to fuse with Inferno, fusing their powers as well as… Can you even say 'body' with the spirit involved?" Yan Lin shrugged. "Anyway, since Candracar exists outside of time itself, unaffected by most of the laws of space and time, if we can keep the spirit in imprisonment while turning back time, we can undo everything without the spirit repossessing the boy. However, there is a problem with this. Even the Guardians won't remember a thing if we turn back time, and Joe's and the Anthony's powers would make them keep the memories and powers, as both of their powers involve an altered state not involving the other worlds. If the Guardians' transformations weren't tied to the Heart of Candracar, even they would remember. No one in Heatherfield would remember Inferno, Joe, or Anthony." Yan Lin understood. They were forcing it on her to see if the Guardians were ok with losing their memories. _It figures they'd force such a task on an old woman like me._ "Why would we turn back the clock? Is there no way to just beat this? You said this was an emergency procedure, meaning we should try and avoid using it." "If this happens, we can keep Inferno from ever getting back into the timeline." Sighing, the old woman nodded again. "I will speak to the girls. But you realize this will mean I will have to tell them about you, and they weren't supposed to know until Phobos was put behind bars." "Plenty of things happened connected to the fire spirit that weren't meant to happen. The Keeper of the Heart wasn't even supposed to learn her power over energy until the veil is lifted. I'm glad she isn't talking to toasters. If we truly want to save the worlds, we must do this." Yan Lin was getting frustrated. "In other words, rather than simply ask their opinion; you really want me to force on them the loss of their memories. Fine, but out of my house." she said, holding her head in one hand and waving her other at the purple portal.

"Joe, listen please." said Anthony, as he kept blocking the rapid-fire punches by Joe, but just barely. "I realize it was the spirit, not you, who tried to kill me in that alley. I'm not mad, and I want to help you guys out." Joe stopped responding to these claims in any way other than getting madder." Fight back, asshole." said Joe, as he kept up the punches. His eyes were literally glowing crimson with anger. _I've had enough of the crap that's been going on. It's all this guy's fault, and I'm going to kill him._ In the street, everyone for five blocks that didn't have school to go to was watching in amazement; some at the incredible rate of the punches, others at the amazing blocking ability of the defender, and a few simply at the length and color of the attacker's hair. Some kid who was obviously skipping school was trying to make a profit off of this by selling tickets, but nobody actually paid since he couldn't stop them from looking. An old man finally whacked him in the nuts with his cane, and the kid ran off clutching his mid-section and looking like a crappy dancer or like he had to visit the bathroom quickly.

The final bell rang, and everyone headed to their homes or their friend's homes. The Guardians saw a kid clutching his nuts as he walked by the school, saying something about trying to make a profit off the fight at the ruined house and also something about old men and their canes. The first part caught their attention, and the girls were at Joe's old house in a matter of minutes. After pushing through the crowd, they saw Joe transformed, obviously for the extra speed and strength. In front of him, guarding was a disguised Anthony, whose disguise would work on almost anyone but the Guardians. Joe finally got a hit in, and Anthony was sent backwards into Will. "Oh, hey." he said. "Will you tell him I'm here to help you guys? I have valuable information on Phobos and I'm no longer declaring revenge." Irma was the first to retort. "And why should we believe that?" _Great. Another sarcastic person giving me this treatment. _"Let's give him a chance." said Will. "Anyone want to try and stop Joe's rage?" As they spoke, Joe was slowly walking towards them. _I guess it'll take more than Inferno's absence to make Joe positive._ Hay Lin thought as she commanded her power over air enough to create a gust that got everyone around them wishing they had their coats. However, she was soon tired out without the Heart magnifying her power, so Cornelia made an earthquake with her feet. It wasn't big, but enough to get people running in fear. Now that the area was clear, Hay Lin stood in front of the enraged warrior and grabbed his arm. "Hay Lin, out of my way." "You're acting like Inferno, dip-shit." she replied with a sarcastic smile. The smile and the realization of his actions caused him to calm down, and realizing no one else was around, Joe reverted back to his original form. "Let's meet at the Silver Dragon, if the police aren't searching there for Joe. We'll get some privacy there." said Will, and the entire group nodded, Joe still glaring at Anthony.

Yan Lin was expecting them, and wasn't too surprised to see Anthony with them. She decided to wait and prepare her speech, letting them talk. "What do you want?" asked Joe, without powering up this time. "To tell you the truth. Phobos killed your grandma, not me. He plans to fuse with Phobos, in return for partial domination of Earth if Phobos wins." "Where's proof?" asked Will. Yan Lin decided now was a good time to tell them. "Because I already knew of these plans since this afternoon." she said, getting surprising looks from everyone gathered there. "There is something I must reveal especially to the girls. The Heart of Candracar has that name because it came from Candracar. Candracar exists outside of reality to help ensure the peace between worlds. It is the location of the source to the Heart of Candracar's power. The leader of Candracar, the Oracle, has informed me not only of Phobos's final plot involving you, Joe, but of a way to solve our problems. The jewel Phobos sealed Inferno away in was the Heart of Meridian. If we can get that with Inferno in it to the Oracle, he can keep the spirit imprisoned and turn back the clock on Earth to the day you met Inferno, Joe." Hay Lin knew her grandma, and something was wrong. "Grandma, is there a price?" Yan Lin nodded. "I don't fully understand why, in fact the reason I got sounds like it would work in reverse order, but because Joe and Anthony's powers involve a transformation not involved with Candracar, only they will remember anything from before the reverse of time; or should I say after it?" "What transformation?" Anthony asked. 'You went from fat to skinny. That counts." replied the old woman. Joe was thinking of his grandma. _I can get her back, but only if the Guardians agree. Also, I'd lose Hay Lin, the girl I truly like._ Joe raised his hand to ask a question, but remembered that only worked in a classroom and put it down. "Will Anthony and I keep our powers if the reverse takes place?" Yan Lin nodded. Oddly enough, the Guardians all said at the same time: "Let's do this." Hay Lin sounded somewhat reluctant, but must've realized it would've been done anyway.

"I hate this planet already." said Phobos, as he and the Knights traveled down the streets looking for the Guardians. The Heart of Meridian seemed to be glowing a bit darker than usual around Phobos's neck. "It's a shame Anthony disappeared. He could've enjoyed our final battle." said Jeff. They passed the Silver Dragon, and saw the Guardians, Joe, and Anthony walk out. Joe gasped as he saw the black symbol of fire on Phobos's hand, and the Knights did the same thing when they saw Anthony with the enemy. "Guardians, I give you one final chance to surrender." said the Prince of Meridian. "Give me the Heart of Candracar." Will shook her head, and talked back. "Give us a time and place, Phobos. The battle will take place wherever you want." Everyone stared at anyone who shared their element on the other side. Taranee, Joe, Uriah, and Phobos all glared at their fellow pyrokinetics, while Cornelia and the Grumpers exchanged evil looks. Martin looked at Irma with a pissed off expression, and Irma just stared right back. Hay Lin and Jeff tensed up, ready to go breeze-to-breeze. "The Knights told me about a place called Shell Cove. It should have everything a good battle ground must have. Desolate of unwanted trespassers, it also holds anything elemental our warriors may need. Meet us their in half an hour."

**A/N:** I cannot think of any way to make this story last longer. I'm already repeating fights only with different characters. There will only be one or two more chapters after this. Either way, the final battle takes place next chapter. And I bet none of you guys expected me to put such an ending as the one foreshadowed in this chapter.


	14. A New Beginning

**A/N:** Ok, since this is probably the last chapter, I'm going to try and make it longer, though it will probably be short in reality. This is because I will get straight to the fight with minor digression.

The air in Shell Cove was tense. A glamour zone had been put up by Phobos, and the Knights, Guardians, Phobos, Joe, and Anthony were glaring at each other again. "Joe," said Phobos, "when you and I transform we can get this battle going." The black and orange fire marks on both hands glowed as Joe nodded in agreement, and the changes were made. Phobos's hair became messier, and a different shade of its color, but other than the armor that was about it. When both beings had armor on, it looked almost exactly like the battle at the gym: One orange and one black warrior staring each other down. **"Take him out already. I gave you control but you are making me impatient."** said a familiar demonic voice Joe didn't like.

Taranee, oddly, made the first move to attack Uriah. She flew around the place, attacking him in a circular pattern with fire balls. Uriah turned around with her on the ground, and merely grabbed the fire balls as the came at him, sending them back. Taranee dodged, and created five at once, sending them at him at the same time at different angles. Uriah made a dome of fire around him that simply absorbed her moves. _Uriah is making me madder than usual._ Taranee thought while thinking. Uriah kept up the dome and yawned. "Are you going to get serious, bitch?" he asked, further angering the fire Guardian.

Irma and Martin immediately summoned water from the lake, and Irma had a fifteen foot serpent made of water sitting next to her. Martin had a ball of water about the same size in width. "How original, loser." said Irma with obvious sarcasm. "When we win, I think I'll ask Phobos to let me keep you as a slave." Martin retorted, irritating his former crush. The ball turned into a raccoon, and they sent their creations after the other person, so Irma was trying not to get hit by the raccoon's tail, while Martin was jumping to dodge the serpent.

Jeff and Hay Lin looked to anyone else like they were simply trying to out fly the other. In reality, no one could see the air that seemed undecided as to its master. Hay Lin and Jeff kept pushing it one way and the other with movements in mid-air, so they were at a stalemate. "You're good with air, I'll give you that." said Jeff, but Hay Lin didn't seem to care. She just kept up the battle, waiting for a weak spot in his air defense.

"This isn't fair." said Cornelia, staring down both Grumpers. "They have one more." She started with vines that Courtney easily cut with some rock from the ground. Cornelia did the vine trick again, but this time from behind them, and the vines began to wrap up the Grumpers. Bess was already working on capturing Cornelia the same way they'd done Caleb before. The earth people were trying to get out of each other's traps, and the tides turned. Now the Grumpers were outnumbered by one, as Will and Anthony joined the fight. Just when they'd joined, all three earth mages broke free in a blast of rock and leaves; Cornelia looked pissed. "Guys, let's make some power cords." Will and Anthony knew what she meant, and Cornelia used more vines from the ground. Will and Anthony touched the ground with both hands, and as Cornelia brought a myriad of vines, not only were they glad this was a glamour zone, but the vines crackled with energy and zipped at lightning speed towards the Grumpers. The enemy put up a rock wall around them, which stopped all vines except one, which broke it. "Damn." said Anthony. "The Knights seem to be defensive today. I guess Phobos and Inferno gave them some orders." Will responded, casting an eye towards Joe and Phobos.

"You realize I'm pissed at both of you." Joe said, noticing the Heart of Meridian hanging on Phobos's neck. _That's the target. _Phobos had insisted on watching how the other fights started, and made a mental note to grant Martin's request once he had the Heart he was looking for. **"Damn it Phobos, kill this bastard! He will pay for humiliating me!"** Inferno's voice yelled aloud, coming out of Phobos's mouth. "Oh, shut up. I'll do it when I damn well please!" said Phobos. To the entire group it looked like he was literally talking with himself. Joe got impatient himself and begun with a quick move behind Phobos and a kick. Joe's kick was stopped by energy from the back of Phobos's hand. Phobos turned around. "Don't think the same melee combat will work as good against me as it would Inferno, boy. I use more magic than him and I know more magic than him." said the arrogant prince in flaming armor. He was replied to with a fire ball to the face, unexpected and painful. He staggered back, and Joe elbowed him in the stomach. Phobos recovered quickly, and shot a black fire ball at Joe. As Joe jumped to the side, a tower of fire came from the ground, hitting him. "Son of a bitch!" he shouted, taking to the air. Aerial melee was much more fun, so Joe figured he'd do better. Phobos chose to continue using long range moves and stayed on the ground, shooting at Joe. Joe made the remark that Inferno was more challenging than Phobos. "Damned kid." muttered the tyrant, and finally decided to fly and meet Joe. Joe started again with a right hook, which Phobos ducked his head under too late for. Phobos held the left side of his face, only to get kneed. **"Phobos, you are useless. Let me take over for this fight."** "Give me a few minutes, and I might." Phobos gave Joe a roundhouse kick to the chest, which Joe received and flew away a bit after. "Again I state: Inferno's better. Now let me fight the monstrosity that started this whole thing." Joe signed this request with a kick to the groin, but Phobos went backwards to dodge. Phobos sent a wave of energy at Joe, but Joe lowered himself, came back up afterwards, and slammed his fist into Phobos's chest, making the prince sprawl in the air. "Damned kid." he repeated, before going limp for a second.

Upon recovering, Phobos's eyes seemed to be made of black fire. Joe took great notice of this. "Inferno, I challenge you for the Heart of Meridian!" Joe said making sure Inferno was aware of the stakes. "Very well. So you want my prison. Come and get it." Inferno challenged, doing the second signing of a deal with an attack today by shooting at Joe, who dodged to the left.

Below, the fights were getting good. Irma and Martin's animals had been replaced by miniature tidal waves. They were trying to hit their opponent with enough force to knock them out, but no such luck with hitting them in the first place. Irma flew above one, while Martin simply moved Irma's water enough to make it go around him without hitting him. "Damn it, Martin! You really are annoying." said Irma, and then she decided to go with a different approach. She sent another wave at Martin, and while he was distracted, she flew into his face and kicked him in it. Martin fell backwards on his ass and tried to get up. Irma, however, was fed up and grabbed him. "Surrender so I can help my friends." She said with a flare in her eyes. Martin tried to summon some water to his aid, but Irma used her free hand to keep it away. "Damn it. I'm beat." he said, defeated. "I'll make sure of that." Irma replied, and knocked him out by punching between her eyes. _Wow, fighting with my hands and feet was a bit of fun._ She said, and headed over to the fight with Uriah.

Meanwhile, things were about to come to a close in another fight. The Grumpers had made a dome of earth around them to protect from both earth and electric attacks. "I have an idea." said Anthony, and he whispered it into their ears. "Why'd you whisper?" Cornelia asked. "You never know if they can hear you." he replied. They all placed their hands on the ground, with Cornelia thinking this stance was becoming common, and used the best of their abilities.

"Why are we being so defensive? We should fight." Bess complained. "Let's wear them out trying to get through this thing. I've put enough power in it so she can't move it herself." replied the other sister. Both girls began to feel an odd tugging at their legs. When they looked, they saw more vines rapidly covering them. Before the girls could make a move to remove them, the vines were charged with energy, and knocked the girls unconscious as the dome broke around them. "Damn that got easy." said Anthony. He and Will watched the fight with Joe while Cornelia went to help Hay Lin. They were waiting to see if Joe would need the move that had been a trump card whenever used: The Electric Flame Attack.

Irma doused Uriah's fire shield with water the moment she arrived. Taranee felt grateful, watching as Uriah tried and failed to keep up his shield, getting drenched in the process. Taranee started bombarding him with flames, mostly aimed at his hair. She wasn't trying to anything to totally harm him. Uriah looked as up as he could, seeing a few flickers from the flames that covered his hair. Irma came up with a combo of high and low punches while he was distracted, and knocked him out after a minute or two. Taranee put out the fire just in time for Uriah to be bald. "You know, that's a nice look for him." she said to Irma. "Hey, I make the jokes; but good one." Seeing Cornelia with Hay Lin, they decided it was okay to just stand and watch.

Jeff decided to take to the offensive. He spun his right hand, and pointed at Hay Lin. She was caught in a visible tornado, seemingly being shaken up. However, Jeff let his guard down enough for her to surprise him. "You haven't had nearly as much practice as I have." she yelled over the roar of the wind. She dispersed the tornado with only her mind, no movement needed. She was done trying to get by on normal skill. She was going to use full power. Jeff called up more wind, only to find himself getting hit by stones. Behind him, Cornelia was casting ammo at him, and she had an unlimited supply. Jeff turned around to face the girl magically tossing shit at him, again only to be attacked. Hay Lin's wind was actually cutting him. Jeff winced, and Cornelia slung a rock just hard enough to knock him out right between the eyes.

Some more DBZ action was going on in the only remaining match. Joe was following Inferno's moves blow for blow, and neither were getting a hit in anywhere but on each other's fists. Inferno gave a left jab, which Joe blocked with his foot using a very quick roundhouse kick. In the same move, Joe did a back flip and caught Inferno in the chin with his foot. Inferno grabbed the foot after it hit, and slung Joe down towards the water. Joe managed to flip up and catch himself before falling in. You could see the water parting at his feet as he burst upwards to retaliate. Joe gave a quick punch, which turned into a grab as Inferno blocked, and Joe held onto the blocking arm. Joe flipped forwards in midair, taking Inferno with him. He let Inferno go to make him land on the shore with a quick curse.

Inferno rubbed his head for half a second and stood. Joe got the hint. He wanted to take their fight to the ground for now. Inferno obliged, and landed with a kick which Inferno dodged backwards to avoid. Inferno tried to grab Joe, but Joe moved his foot and landed a punch in Inferno's gut. Joe jumped up quickly so he was above Inferno and landed a vertical kick to Inferno's back before he could land. Inferno got back up slowly only to be kicked in the back of the head, and sent flying into the water. _How'd this kid learn to fight like this? _Almost as if on Qué, Joe said "I'm glad I watch cartoons."

The fight continued for a good half hour, with Joe and Inferno both taking turns on gaining and losing the advantage. Now they stood on the shore, while both panted. Inferno gave a smug look to Joe. "You put up an excellent fight. I'm sure the afterlife will enjoy a warrior such as you." He conjured up the familiar blue fireball. But this one was already being charged with energy. Joe figured it was coming from Phobos's magic. "However, this world is mine." Joe nodded towards Anthony, who shot at Joe with his electricity. Joe put a blue fireball in the way, and launched his at the same time Inferno did. The attacks hit each other, and both were trying to get them to hit their enemy. Inferno charged his with more magic from Phobos, and Joe was rapidly losing control. "Will!" he shouted, and she powered Joe's attack with her own energy, tying it again. The warriors were struggling just to keep their attacks in existence, let alone more powerful than their opponent. Inferno gave one last burst of power, and the balls started to move towards Joe. Joe pushed with his power, but still could do nothing. "Fool. I have more elemental control over fire and energy." Inferno bragged, and continued his move. When all seemed hopeless, Joe had an idea. _Elemental control means shit without all the elements._ "Guardians, use the Heart to help fuel my flame!" Joe ordered. Confused, the Guardians each placed a hand on the Heart of Candracar. A rainbow of light led from the Heart to the attack, and the blue ball made by Joe was now flashing with streaks of blue, green, red, and a few other colors Joe didn't recognize. Joe already had a name for this move, though he didn't think he'd ever get to use it again. "Electric Flame is nothing compared to the Element Blaze." Joe said as he gained the upper hand. His attack had tripled in size, and was now making a trail in the ground as it moved towards Inferno. Inferno's strength gave in when the attacks reached him despite his best efforts. He was obliterated, and in his place was an unconscious Phobos with no black mark on his hand. The Heart of Meridian floated to Joe's hand, and the heroes wordlessly agreed to head towards the Silver Dragon. The Heart of Meridian had a dark fire trapped in it, trying to get out. "Let me out!" Inferno refused to give up, but to no avail as the Silver Dragon came into view.

"Excellent." Yan Lin exclaimed. She motioned for Will to hand her the Heart of Candracar. Yan Lin pointed in front of her, and a purple portal opened. "Nice effect." Will said. "This leads to Candracar?" Yan Lin nodded, and led the way through.

After a full five minutes of awing from the newcomers, the group made their way through a huge white palace into what appeared to be a room made for thinking. Indeed, the Oracle himself released himself from meditation to greet the Guardians. "I knew it would be some old guy." Irma said, only to get elbowed by Hay Lin. The old man welcomed them warmly. "Congratulations on your great victory. And a nice display of teamwork was shown in the final move." he said, trying to lighten the mood. He held out his hand, and Joe gave him the Heart of Meridian. "Inferno will be kept in a special prison that exists outside of time. He will not return to the cave where you found him." The Oracle answered the look on Joe's face well. "Can I ask two favors?" he asked. The Oracle nodded, and Joe told him the first. "I want Yan Lin to keep her memory. She is no longer a Guardian, so it wouldn't go against your 'rules'." The Oracle nodded; almost surprised that such few words could provide such a good point. Joe whispered the second request, and the Oracle got to business. He went to the center of his chamber, put the Heart of Meridian around his neck, assumed a meditative stance, and cried out "Reverse!". In a flash of darkness, everything was gone.

_Hay Lin was sitting up in her bed. Or at least she thought it was her bed. But she didn't recognize the room. In a desk was a boy writing in a book. He hadn't noticed her, so Hay Lin walked over to him and looked at what he had just finished writing._

Day 1:

Dear Journal:

It's weird to be writing day 1 in here again. It's also weird to have woken back in this room (damned alarm clock) and seen my grandma again. I felt the same as I did when I woke up this day the first time. It's like the reverse took all the feelings I'd received from Inferno and threw them away. I'm me again. I went to school, and Anthony was fat again. It turns out he has a transformation now. Not only does he become skinny when he powers up, his hair becomes electric blue and his eyes turn yellow. He was freaking crackling. We told Chris and Chad what happened, and they didn't believe us until I snapped my finger and Chris thanked me for burning his homework. Me and Anthony are going to have a practice at the empty house's backyard not too far from home tomorrow. Knowing us, this will turn into a sparring match. We visited the cave, all four of us. The cub was there, but this time I didn't touch it. Wee found the cave empty, so I was reassured.

_The boy closed his book and looked straight at Hay Lin. "Don't worry, this will all be explained in the future. I will see you again, good friend." Before her eyes, the boy went through a transformation, involving hair growing longer and armor covering him. Then she woke up._

"Stupid alarm clock is always waking me up." Hay Lin said as she walked downstairs. She explained her dream to Yan Lin. "You're the wise one. Does it mean anything?" Hay Lin asked. Yan Lin simply smiled and told her not to worry, though Hay Lin could see a look of knowing in her face. Yan Lin knew more, but Hay Lin decided she knew best.

Joe woke up for day 2 of the new timeline, and silently thanked the Oracle for giving him that ability for the night. He gathered his things and went to school, psyched for the practice afterwards.

**A/N: **Well, what did you think? Please review this story. I'd like to know who thinks what.


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